If Manchester United want hope that Juventus are willing to part with Paul Pogba, the scale of the Gonzalo Higuain transfer to the Serie A giants seemed to be a pointer.
The Italian champions confirmed the signing of Higuain from Napoli.
The Argentina striker has agreed a five-year deal after his release clause of €90 million was triggered and one would assume that they will need to recoup that huge outlay with a player sale.
Pogba would probably mean they would make a profit across both deals if Manchester United do get their transfer for the France midfielder over the line.
However, Juventus claim they can afford Higuain without having to sell Pogba as Italian football writer James Horncastle explained on Off The Ball tonight.
"They've got a number of fringe players who they've got offers for like Simone Zaza, Roberto Pereyra, Stefano Sturaro and Hernanes that allows them to get the money to pay for €60 million of the €90 million," he said, adding that the Higuain deal is to be paid in instalments.
But given that Juve have already spent big on ex-Roma midfielder Miralem Pjanic among others, Horncastle believes Pogba then comes into play again.
"You have to put two and two together and think they are doing this because Pogba is going," he said, although Horncastle did point that Juve are looking to build a super team to have a real go at Champions League glory.
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
