Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has hinted that the club are closing in on the signing of Paul Pogba from Juventus, confirming that the club would make one more signing before the end of the transfer window by shying away from admitting that it would be the Frenchman.
United have been linked with a move for the 23-year-old for much of the summer, with reports claiming that a world record move for the midfielder is just days away from completion - if not hours.
Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho hints Paul Pogba deal is close to completion https://t.co/y10sO99Flg pic.twitter.com/0HQy0TNrck
Speaking before Wayne Rooney's testimonial match against Everton on Wednesday night, Mourinho told the media: "We are going to sign one more player, that's for sure."
He added: "I don't want to speak about Paul because he's a Juventus player. But the reality is that we are going to sign one more player. As you know, the market closes on August 31 so we have plenty of time to do that, but obviously I'd like to do it before the season starts."
Juventus are said to have been resigned to losing their star man for several weeks, and despite interest from Real Madrid, United appear to have blown the European champions out of the water with their offer. Los Blancos are set to turn their attention to Pogba's international teammate Moussa Sissoko instead.
Afternoon sweat 👊� #newyork #combat pic.twitter.com/id5BACTub1
Italian newspaper Il Tempo reported on Tuesday night that Pogba was set to undergo his medical on Thursday, though the latest reports line up with earlier suggestions that United could make the deal public before putting their former youth star through his paces.
The media fog of war orchestrated by agent Mino Raiola, and Pogba himself, has left nobody quite sure what to expect from one day to the next - but the increasing urgency of reports seem to suggest that the saga is finally nearing completion.
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Paul Pogba is worth the £100m fee #MUFC are ready to pay #Juve for him, says Phil Neville https://t.co/mGEclgxv99 pic.twitter.com/T5xZlAQQSr