Real Madrid still hopeful of hijacking Man Utd's Pogba bid

Real Madrid are still hopeful of hijacking Manchester United's move to sign Paul Pogba from Juventus, according to reports in Italy.

Italian joirnalist Tancredi Palmeri today claimed that Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is using his contacts within the Juventus hierarchy to delay the Turin club's deal with United, while manager Zinedine Zidane is contacting Pogba to convince the player to chosse the Bernabeu over Old Trafford.

Palmeri points out that, while he believes United have reached an agreement with Juventus, Pogba and his agent Mino Raiola, as long as the deal is not signed, Madrid will try to muscle in.

This is all coming off the back to Los Blancos missing out on the signing of Valencia midfielder André Gomes, with the Portuguese playmaker electing to join rivals FC Barcelona at the eleventh hour.

Stung by this defeat, Madrid are now thought to be focussing their efforts on Pogba.

It was reported earlier this month that Madrid had withrawn their interest in Pogba, feeling that the kind of fees United were willing to stump up were beyond what they considered reasonable.

But now it would seem that the eleven time European champions have had a change of heart, and decided that Pogba is worth breaking the bank for after all.

It may all be too little too late, however, with both Sports Mediaset and Calciomercato reporting that Pogba could be confirmed as a United player within the next two days.