Juventus and Chelsea have entered the fray to sign Paris St. Germain’s Blaise Matuidi amidst rumours linking him with a move to Manchester United this summer.
Italian champions Juventus and Chelsea are both in the market for a midfielder and have seemingly sounded out Manchester United target Blaise Matuidi as a potential addition to their ranks. French publication L’Equipe understand that the English and Italian giants will battle it out for the player’s signature, with PSG reportedly ready to listen to offers in the range of £17 – £25 million.
That said, Manchester United are still odds-on to sign the Frenchman with Jose Mourinho eyeing the prospect of pairing the French duo of Matuidi and Paul Pogba in his midfield line-up next season. The arrival of Grzegorz Krychowiak at PSG under new boss Unai Emery has had the 29-year-old contemplating his future at the Parc Des Princes.
With an impressive array of clubs lining up to sign him, Matuidi may well be enticed to swap loyalties and force an exit from the French champions this summer.The centre-midfielder has featured in 240 games for the Ligue 1 giants, scoring 26 goals and assisting 23 others and helping his side win 11 major honours during his five year stay at the club.
L’Equipe claim that Juventus are keen on bringing the Frenchman over to Turin as a direct replacement for his international team-mate Pogba. The Old Lady are ready to meet Matuidi’s £10 million per year salary and are pushing for agent Mino Raiola to complete the formalities.
Pogba’s transfer to Manchester United is in a state of limbo at the moment following a lack of developments after the Bianconeri rejected the 20-time English champions’ second bid for the player, believed to be in the region of £105 million. The progress in Pogba’s transfer saga could go some way into determining the extent to which Juventus pursue Matuidi.
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has already signed a midfielder this summer in N’Golo Kante, with the 25-year-old arriving from Leicester City in a deal worth £30 million. With Nemanja Matic seemingly out-of-favour at Stamford Bridge, the Italian is looking to bring in Matuidi to pair up with his French international team-mate as he looks to reinstate the Blues’ elite status in the Premier League after a disastrous 2015-16 campaign.
Juventus’ interest in midfielders confirmation of Pogba’s transfer to United?
PSG’s Blaise Matuidi is just one among a number of midfielders Max Allegri has lined up to sign this summer should Pogba leave the Italian powerhouses. Transfer rumour links with midfielders all across the continent has suggested that probably the Serie A champions have given up on their hopes of the superstar midfielder staying at Turin this summer.
Manchester United have had two bids for Pogba rejected by Juventus so far, with the Old Lady reportedly demanding more sums of money in addition to their eye-popping figure of £105 million. United are desperate to script the midfielder’s return to Old Trafford, after he left the club on a free transfer in 2012.
The Bianconeri have already signed Miralem Pjanic this summer and will be on the look-out for more options to stock up their midfield should Pogba decide to pack his bags. Barcelona’s Javier Mascherano is one who is believed to be on the club’s radar and so is Chelsea’s Matic. With the squad that they have assembled this transfer window ahead of the new 2016-17 season, Allegri would like to be challenging for the Champions League crown. Whether they will be able to do that without Pogba in their ranks is a story only time can tell.
