Former Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka has urged Paul Pogba to dismiss the reported interest of Manchester United and join the Blues from Juventus.

Anelka, who won four trophies with Chelsea between 2008-12, believes Pogba can play in any division, but has told the starlet to join one of his two former clubs, per France Football (h/t Anthony Chapman of the Express):

Paul technically knows everything and he has the qualities to play anywhere. My preference is for him to join Chelsea, who have very strong players and the financial power of [Roman] Abramovich. Also Real Madrid, who are one of the biggest clubs in the world, if not the greatest. He would grow a lot under Carlo Ancelotti.

Pogba is currently the subject of fierce speculation. As noted by Chapman, the likes of Chelsea and United are suggested to be front-runners for his signature, while Ben Jefferson of the same publication suggests Paris Saint-Germain could also be in the mix.

Mino Raiola, Pogba‘s agent, previously suggested any suitors will need to stump up in excess of £85 million to convince Juve to sell.

“If the right time comes this summer, then it will happen,” said Raiola, reported by Telefoot (h/t Kieran Gill of the MailOnline). “If it is not the right time, he could stay for another year or two. He will beat the transfer record. If there is one Mona Lisa in the world, and she is for sale, it will be a record price.”

B/R UK’s Ryan Bailey and Jonathan Johnson recently discussed whether Pogba could become football’s first £100 million player:

Jose Mourinho has proven himself conscious of UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules in recent times. Juan Cuadrado’s arrival was met with Andre Schurrle’s departure, while Juan Mata and Kevin De Bruyne were pushed through the door in January 2014 to make way for Nemanja Matic and Mohamed Salah.

Let’s not forget the £50 million exit of David Luiz, which helped fund Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas‘ arrivals in the summer.

As such, it could be difficult to raise in excess of £85 million without significantly impacting the squad. Pogba is a terrific young player—a current superstar and future legend if he continues to improve—but a world-record transfer could be problematic for the west London club.

Mourinho may be better off focusing on another Serie A target in Mauro Icardi. Constantly linked to a host of teams in recent weeks, per the Mirror, the Argentinian striker recently hinted he would be willing to move to the Premier League.

His comments were reported by Rob Dawson of the Manchester Evening News: “I’m not interested in rumours, what counts is winning with Inter,” said Icardi. “If the ones about United, Chelsea and Liverpool were real, I would be honoured, because they are big clubs, but I’m already in a great team where I can win something important.”

Icardi is currently one of the most sought-after strikers in Europe after bagging himself 15 goals with Inter Milan this season, per WhoScored.com. Football writer Adam Digby recently commented on Icardi‘s quality during Inter’s win over Atalanta, which the 21-year-old missed through illness:

Mourinho has built a physical, well-rounded squad which possesses depth in every area. Pogba and Icardi would slot in well, but there’s no doubt major outgoings would have to follow. The Portuguese manager is always itching to improve, so he will monitor his players closely as the business end of the season approaches.

Pogba‘s departure from Juve would likely be the biggest, most expensive transfer of the summer if it goes ahead. With over a decade of top-level football left in him, Pogba is likely to reach his peak at his next club.

from Bleacher Report – Front Page http://ift.tt/1zny1tn
via IFTTT http://ift.tt/eA8V8J