Manchester City have been offered the chance to sign Manchester United star Paul Pogba in a sensational deal this summer, according to reports.
The French midfielder is out of contract at Old Trafford at the end of the season, when it is widely expected he will depart the club for the second time with no agreement reached over a lucrative extension.
Pogba has been linked with returning to his native France with Paris Saint-Germain after his United deal expires, while he has also been mentioned in connection with the likes of Real Madrid and former club Juventus.
However, The Times reported on Saturday that the 29-year-old joins West Ham’s Declan Rice - also a top United target - on a City shortlist of box-to-box midfield targets that could potentially replace Fernandinho, the long-serving captain who plans to depart Etihad Stadium this summer.
Although he would obviously command significant wages, the lack of a transfer fee for Pogba could make him a more attractive candidate than Rice, who West Ham do not want to sell and value at an exorbitant £150million with three years left to run on his contract.
United would loathe to see Pogba join their closest rivals, having famously lost out to City on a permanent deal for Carlos Tevez back in 2009.
The Argentine striker had shone on loan at Old Trafford under Sir Alex Ferguson, but rejected the chance to join United on a full-time basis and instead agreed a lucrative five-year contract at City, who taunted their neighbours with a ‘Welcome to Manchester‘ poster featuring Tevez that was erected in the city centre.
Other players to have previously crossed the Manchester divide include Peter Schmeichel, Denis Law, Terry Cooke, Owen Hargreaves, Andy Cole, Andrei Kanchelskis and Brian Kidd.
United signed former City youngster Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund in a £73m deal last summer, before swooping fast to ensure that club legend Cristiano Ronaldo did not move to City from Juventus. Ronaldo instead penned a two-year deal to return to United, where his future remains subject to question under incoming manager Erik ten Hag.
