The grand conspiracy of Manchester United, Juventus, Mino Raiola and Paul Pogba to keep the inches of sports sections clogged with the nuances of Human Resources continues. Earlier this week it seemed we had been given some sweet, merciful relief, as L'Equipe and Eurosport reported that United and Juventus had finally agreed a fee, only for agent Mino Raiola emerged from beneath his pile of money to pour cold water on such reports, claiming that the deal was held up as United had to pay the 20% commission he was owed for brokering the deal.
It does like a matter of when, not if, Pogba returns to Old Trafford, as Juventus appear to be preparing for life post-Pogba by splurging unprecedented amounts to improve their squad, gobbling up their rivals at the same time.
Sky Italia are today reporting that Juve have met Napoli's eye-watering £78 million release clause for Gonzalo Higuain, the Argentine striker who scored 38 goals last season and threatened to take Napoli to the Scudetto before the club imploded near the season's end.
In addition to that, Juve are understood to have made a move for Belgian beanpole and destroyer of Irish dreams Axel Witsel. Witsel is currently at Zenit St Petersburg, and despite links with Everton, Witsel is understood to prefer a move to Turin, where, it would seem, he would be guaranteed a league title. (Juve have now hoovered up their closest rivals key players: Higuain from Napoli and Pjanic from Roma).
A combined outlay of over £100 million on a replacement striker and midfielder is a huge outlay for a club even the size of Juve. It's as if they're expecting an incipient windfall of a similar size.
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