Man United eye Pogba, as Juventus up the price for Vidal
French midfielder Pogba is also being stalked by Man City and Chelsea as Juve open contract talks
The future of Paul Pogba looks increasingly uncertain as the Daily Express claims that Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City are "awaiting the outcome of high-level contract talks" between the French playmaker and Juventus.
Apparently the Serie A champions are trying their level best to persuade Pogba to pledge his loyalty to them once his current deals runs its course in 2016 and Italian sources say the Old Lady of Turin is "willing to offer Pogba £60,000-a-week plus bonuses" if only he would sign along the dotted line. Such a sum would triple his current salary but it's by no means certain that the young midfielder will put pen to paper. The Express says that the three English clubs all hold out hope that Pogba could be lured back to the Premier League with an even bigger hike in wages.
Meanwhile, website Caughtoffside reports that Juventus – perhaps slightly piqued by reports of United's interest in Pogba – have "upped their price for Arturo Vidal". The Chilean ace has long been a target for United but in recent days Real Madrid have also been linked with the South American sizzler. Aware of the two clubs' interest in the 27-year-old, Juventus will "look to take advantage" of the tug-of-war by increasing Vidal's price tag to an eye-watering £48m.
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United will also have a battle on their hands if they want to land defender Ron Vlaar from Aston Villa in January. Louis van Gaal apparently wants the Dutch defender to shore up the Old Trafford rear guard but the Daily Express warns that he will have to fork out £12m for the 29-year-old and will have to fight off Arsenal who "may try to hijack" the deal. The paper notes that Arsene Wenger has admitted he will try to sign a defender in January.
Elsewhere and ESPN reports that Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino is considering bringing the brilliantly monikered DeAndre Yedlin to White Hart Lane in January. Spurs have already secured the services of the Seattle Sounders and USA defender but it was planned that the 21-year-old would arrive for the start of next season. Now, with Tottenham suffering something of an injury crisis, Pochettino may alter the terms of the deal. "We need to analyse that," replied Pochettino when asked about Yedlin. "It is [too] early to say whether it will maybe be in January or at the end of the season."
In other news the Daily Star says that Arsenal have farmed out promising youngster Jack Jebb on loan to League Two outfit Stevenage. The short-term deal is for one month and could be seen as something of a setback in the 19-year-old, who was once dubbed 'the new David Beckham' because of his ability to take a decent free kick as opposed to his dreamboat looks, as he looks to break into the Arsenal first team.
Finally Metro reports that Arsenal and Liverpool have been told they can forget about getting their paws on Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas. The veteran gloveman has been linked to both clubs this year, with rumours emanating from Spain that he was unsettled at the Bernabeu. But when asked about the future of the 33-year-old veteran, Real coach Carlo Ancelotti began waxing lyrical. "The matter is closed," he began. "His future is here, it is part of the history of this club and in a few years, when he retires as a football player, Iker will come to this forum along with other great champions at the club to talk about all the European Cups he has won with this shirt."
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