Manchester United expect to seal Paul Pogba deal within 48 hours

Manchester United believe they have made a significant breakthrough in their world record move for Paul Pogba and hope to finalise the deal within the next 48 hours.

United have lodged a fresh offer of around €110m with €10m in add-ons (equivalent to £100m in total) and Juventus are also insisting on a future payment of around €5m if Pogba extends his contract with José Mourinho's side.

With the deal now in place, United are in advanced talks with Pogba's agent Mino Raiola about his €20m fee which Juventus have insisted United must pay in full before the transfer is completed.

United now accept that this is the final hurdle to clear in this exhaustive summer chase and it appears the 23-year-old is set to rejoin United after four years and four Serie A titles in Turin, with Juve instantly recouping the €90m they spent on Gonzalo Higuaín, plus more for further squad reinforcement. United are so confident about the deal that Pogba is now waiting on the green light for a medical.

The news will come as a welcome relief to supporters after earlier in the day the Real Madrid coach, Zinedine Zidane, hinted that he may be interested in joining the chase.

Zidane said: “I don’t know if he will come. Until 31 August anything can happen. Everyone is interested in Pogba. He is a great footballer and when you are Madrid you always want the best.

“But now he is not a Real Madrid player, he is a Juventus player. I can’t say anything more.”

However, despite Zidane's words there remains no bid from Madrid and the expectation now is that it is only a matter of hours before Pogba is unveiled at Old Trafford in a deal that would become the most expensive transfer in history, beating Real's moves for Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo.

It would cap a busy summer for Mourinho after moves for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Eric Bailly and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

(Guardian service)