Chelsea Transfer News: Paul Pogba to Cost Blues £73M, Top Rumours

Paul Pogba will push Chelsea's spending powers to the limit after Juventus confirmed that they believe the midfielder will be worth in excess of £73 million next summer. 

According to Neil McLeman of the Mirror, Old Lady director general Giuseppe Marotta said that he believes the Frenchman will soon be worth over €100 million:

We decided to keep Pogba despite significant offers from foreign clubs. In future, he will be worth over €100 million. I’ve noticed how the Premier League has become richer, and we’ve seen clubs buying players for what would have been crazy prices until recently, but are very normal today. If Pogba continues his performance of last season, I think next year, €100 million will not suffice.

 

McLeman noted that the Italian champions rejected bids from Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain for the prized midfielder, clearly waiting for what would be close to a world-record approach for the former Manchester United youngster.

The 22-year-old has excelled in Serie A since leaving Old Trafford and is now regarded as one of the premium talents in world football.

Pogba has made 78 appearances for Juve in the past two seasons in Serie A and Europe, according to WhoScored.com, scoring 16 times and providing 14 assists from his central berth. The No. 10 has continued to develop his all-round game and would suit Blues manager Jose Mourinho's midfield tactics.

Tony Banks of the Express said that Chelsea pursued Pogba up until deadline day, but Juventus' refusal to negotiate terms and the player's £318,000-per-week wage demands killed any thoughts of a deal.

Banks said that Mourinho was looking for a marquee signing after Chelsea's poor start to the defence of their Premier League crown, but no star entity was able to be purchased.

The Blues also had a fourth bid for John Stones rejected by Everton—this time a huge £37 million offer, according to Banks—leaving Chelsea short of world-class investments. The Premier League champions are now prepared to go back in for Pogba in 12 months' time and will battle Barcelona to land the prodigy.

BeIN Sports' Tancredi Palmeri provided substance behind Chelsea's last-minute move for the player, saying Juve were inquiring about midfielders just in case Pogba dramatically landed at Stamford Bridge:

Alex Harris of the Daily Star confirmed that the player would spend a year in Naples, with the Italian club's boss Maurizio Sarri bizarrely admitting: "I don't know anything about the player. If the club picked him then he must have some quality. I train whoever the club puts at my disposal."

The 20-year-old defensive midfielder has previously been loaned out on five previous occasions, having played for Watford, Nottingham Forest, Middlesborough, Burnley and Reading.

Napoli should give the England under-21 player a different kind of experience as Chelsea groom him for continental football—or potentially a profitable sale in a transfer window. 

Pogba is the kind of signing both Mourinho and Chelsea supporters want, but he won't come cheap—no matter when he leaves Turin.

At United, his potential was always there to see, but Sir Alex Ferguson made a huge mistake in letting him leave when he should have been picking the teenager for his first team.

Mourinho is the perfect coach for Pogba, as the Special One developed Eden Hazard's game, which provides a blueprint for the next stage of the Frenchman's career.

Pogba looks set to become one of the highest-paid footballers on the planet, whether he moves to London or finds his way to La Liga.