Roman Abramovich Remains Keen On Paul Pogba

Chelsea are set to break the British transfer record and pay around £72m to Juventus in order to sign midfield powerhouse Paul Pogba, after Roman Abramovich gave the all-clear for a second bid this week, as exclusively reported by the Express.

The record was set by Manchester United last summer after they brought in Angel Di Maria from Real Madrid for £59.7m, and the player would go on to flop after making a blistering start to life in the English Premier League.

The Blues have already seen an offer of £55m rejected by Juventus, as per the report, as Abramovich has said he would not be paying more than £60m for Pogba’s services, but with manager Jose Mourinho keen to see the Frenchman line-up alongside Nemanja Matic in the heart of the Chelsea midfield, the Premier League champions will now make one final bid for the former Manchester United youngster before the transfer window closes next week.

It is understood the deal will involve a cash offer as Chelsea who have already shipped Cuadrado to the Serie A side on loan will be unwilling to let any of their players leave in a likely cash plus player deal.

The Blues’ offer will not hinder that of John Stones – who have reportedly tendered an official request to leave Everton for Chelsea – but the west London club will find it hard to pull off the deal.

However, the Express say if Juve fail to lower their demands, Chelsea plan to work on a deal for next summer but by then, they will face stiff competition from Barcelona whose transfer ban would have been lifted.

Chelsea have spent £42m to bring Pedro and Baba Rahman to the club recently, and the Spaniard immediately had an impact at Stamford Bridge, helping the team to a 3-2 victory against West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns last Sunday. Pedro scored a goal and provided an assist for Diego Costa’s goal, while left-back Baba missed out, probably due to work permit and visa issues.

Meanwhile, Jose Mourinho’s side could play their home games at the Wembley from 2017 as Stamford Bridge is restructured and extended to a 60,000 capacity stadium.