Juventus to tempt Man Utd with versatile midfielder as Pogba swap bait

Bernardeschi, Ronaldo, Cuadrado

Juventus will give Manchester United the chance to sign Federico Bernardeschi as part of their offer for Paul Pogba, according to reports.

United midfielder Pogba has been heavily linked with a move away from Old Trafford since admitting he was ready for a “new challenge” last summer, however he failed to secure a move to the likes of Real Madrid ahead of the current season.

Since then, he has managed just eight appearances in all competitions for the Red Devils due to injury and his time with the Premier League side has been plunged into further doubt.

Madrid continue to be linked with Pogba, however Juventus, who sold him to United for a massive £89million four years ago, are interested in re-signing the World Cup winning midfielder when the next transfer window opens.

The price tag of the Frenchman is proving to be a problem for the Italian giants though, and reports emerging from Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport claim they are willing to use Bernardeschi as a makeweight in any potential deal as they look to bring Pogba’s fee down.

The Italian winger, 26, joined Juve from Fiorentina for £36million in July 2017 and has made 94 appearances for ‘the Old Lady’ so far, scoring nine goals and assisting a further 12.

But he has struggled to produce an end product in 2019/20, scoring only once in 24 games in all competitions, a run of form that could see his stay at the Allianz Stadium come to an end.

Despite that, Bernardeschi could prove to be a shrewd addition for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer should he decide to bring him in as he is able to cover a number of attacking positions and would add plenty of experience, having made over 200 professional league appearances and earned 24 caps on the international stage.

 

 

What’s more, with the futures of Jesse Lingard, Odion Ighalo and Juan Mata still up in the air, United may be in need of reinforcements.

The report adds that Barcelona also hold an interest in the versatile forward, but it seems United will be provided with a chance to secure his services if they wish to do so.

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