Paul Pogba's Transfer Saga Continues as Conflicting Reports Emerge

Conflicting reports in the media have increased the suspense of the much-talked about transfer saga of Paul Pogba from Italian football club Juventus to English giants Manchester United.

According to reports in Sky Italia and The Guardian, United have in their bid to sign the highly-rated French midfielder. The reports claim that the Italian champions have refused an opening offer of 85 million pounds (101 million euros), which came with 15 million pounds (18 million euros) of performance bonuses attached which could have raised it to 100 million pounds in total.

However, Pogba looks set to be the subject of the bid by his former club Manchester United, British media reported on Wednesday.

The 23-year-old will cost United dear as he left them for Juventus for nothing in July 2012 after making just a handful of appearances prompting then manager Alex Ferguson to slam him for showing no respect to the club.

Pogba was an integral part of the France side that reached the Euro 2016 final although his performance in the 1-0 loss to Portugal received a panning.

However, the present United regime are prepared to let bygones be bygones and throw money at Pogba, who has played a crucial role for Juventus in their dominance of the domestic scene in the past few seasons.

His arrival would complete new manager Jose Mourinho's spending for the upcoming season.

The usually well-informed Daily Mail suggests that United will lodge a bid on Wednesday and that senior players are confident Pogba will be returning to the club, whilst The Daily Mirror says United are closing in on the playmaker terming him the '100 million pound man'.

The Daily Star have a slightly different take in claiming United have already had an 85 million pound opening gambit rejected and that United's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has remained in England to try and seal the deal rather than travelling to China for the club's China pre-season friendly tournament with city rivals Manchester City and German heavyweights Borussia Dortmund.

For some the omens are good as it was on this date in 2012 Ferguson persuaded the United board to part with 24 million pounds to lure Dutch star and Arsenal captain Robin van Persie away from their rivals -- he went on to more than reward the United faithful with 30 goals that season as the Red Devils stormed to the title.

(With AFP inputs)