Juventus Are Preparing To Axe Five Players To Fund A Move For Paul Pogba

Juventus are preparing for a summer clearance as they continue to ramp up their pursuit of re-signing Paul Pogba.

According to Corriere dello Sport, the Serie A champions would need to secure the necessary funds to make the move possible for the Manchester United midfielder.

But the Italian newspaper claims that Juventus have identified five players that could be sold in the summer.

The five names currently on the chopping block are João Cancelo, Douglas Costa, Juan Cuadrado, Mario Mandžukić and Mattia Perin.

Juventus are expecting most of the money for a Pogba deal to come from the transfer of Cancelo, who has been linked with Manchester City.

Pep Guardiola is an admirer of the 25-year-old Portuguese full-back and believes that he could offer competition to Kyle Walker.

And the Premier League champions are in talks with the Old Lady and are reportedly close to agreeing a €50m deal.

But the summer fire sale is not all about bringing Pogba back to Turin.

Juventus are keen to cash in on players before their value decreases, along with making room in the squad for Maurizio Sarri to implement his philosophy once he succeeds Massimiliano Allegri.

The Italian club rekindled their interest in Pogba recently and believe that he would favour a move back to Italy.

The 26-year-old World Cup-winning Frenchman's future at Old Trafford remains uncertain after United's disappointing season.

But if a move for the United superstar fails to happen in the transfer window, Juventus have no intention of giving up on making a marquee signing this summer.

The sale of all five Juventus players, which could fetch anywhere between €100m to €120m, would be used to sign Matthijs de Ligt from Ajax.

The 19-year-old Dutch starlet has become one of the most highly rated prospects in Europe and has been linked with United, Liverpool and Barcelona.

And Juventus ace Cristiano Ronaldo would welcome him with open arms after he told him to come to Italy following the Nations League final.

Should Pogba return to Juventus?

Let us know in the comments.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Paul Pogba, Manchester United, Serie A, red devils, Premier League, Douglas Costa, old lady, Juventus, Joao Cancelo, Old Trafford

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

@AdnanRiaz9