Real Madrid are reportedly only willing to pay up to €60m to prise Paul Pogba away from Man Utd this summer, a significant reduction on previously touted fees.
The 27-year-old has been limited to just eight appearances so far this season due to ongoing injury problems, with the Red Devils remaining in contention to achieve their objectives without him.
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In turn, that could raise the question as to whether Ole Gunnar Solskjaer can afford to move him on, and reinvest that fee back into the squad to help them improve in key areas.
That said, Pogba remains a world-class player when in top form, and so adding him to the current side could be the smarter decision.
With the coronavirus crisis grinding football to a halt around Europe this past month, it will seemingly also have a negative impact on the spending clubs do this summer as they deal with the financial fall out and hit to their revenue.
As reported by Calciomercato, via Fichajes.net, it’s now suggested that Real Madrid will be willing to pay up to just €60m to sign Pogba this summer, significantly less than what has previously been suggested prior to the pandemic.
The Express have reported that Man Utd chief Ed Woodward had put a £150m price-tag on Pogba, but it’s noted that there is an acceptance that it’s highly unlikely they’ll receive that kind of fee this summer as a result of the crisis.
Whether €60m will be enough to convince United to sell seems unlikely given the huge gap between the two figures, although the situation becomes increasingly complicated given Pogba’s current contract expires in 2021.
Man Utd have an option to extend it for an additional 12 months, and so it would seem like the sensible move to buy them time to either allow the market to recover and sell Pogba next summer for a fee closer to his real valuation, or perhaps to negotiate a long-term deal so he can commit his future to the club.