Barcelona manager Luis Enrique has branded all rumours linking Juventus star Paul Pogba with the Catalans as “speculation”. The Blaugrana had reportedly launched a bid for Pogba, who is being regarded as one of the worlda s top midfielders as of now, earlier in the week.
The Spaniard called the links nothing but lies and media built speculation. Clubs are lining up left, right and centre for the Frenchman who came through the system at Manchester United.
Ironically, Pogba has been strongly linked to the Manchester club and also with Barcelonaa s arch rivals Real Madrid who are, reportedly, ready to break the bank for the 21-year-old. The Frenchman may even have a chance to return home with Paris Saint Germain also ready to splash the cash in the summer.
Barca sporting director Ariedo Braida was spotted in the audience as Juventus played host to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League last week, fuelling speculation of a possible transfer.
Yet, any move for Pogba to Barca will be a complicated one as the club are currently banned from signing players till 2016. When asked about this at a press conference, Enrique played the move down.
“Pogba rumours? I’m not talking about speculation, I can’t control that. I’m focused on football now,” he said ahead of his side’s clash with Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.
With Sergio Busquets ruled out, the Catalansa midfield became a hot topic for discussion at Enriquea s weekly press conference.
“Replacing Busquets? We have several options. Sergi Roberto can play there, and we have Xavi, [Javier] Mascherano and [Ivan] Rakitic.”
With Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Neymar forming a good partnership up top, the future of home grown talent Pedro has come into the spotlight recently. Enrique, however, confirmed that Pedro still has an important role to play at the Camp Nou.
“Pedro has special qualities,” he added. “He adds a lot, dribbling, scoring, keeping the pitch wide. He’s always ready to compete.”
As Barca prepare to enter a crucial period of the season, when they will face Manchester City in the Champions League and Real Madrid in La Liga four days later, Enrique remained confident of his teama s chances.
“It’s key to stay focused and not let our attention drift from the league.
“Right now we are focused on the league and the Champions League. The cup can wait until four or five days before the final.”
At this moment in time, the Catalans are just two points behind Los Blancos in La Liga and have a game in hand after the whites lost to Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.
Bilbao also happen to be Barcelonaa s opponents in the Copa del Ray final which will be contested in May.