MX23RW : Friday, April 19 16:21:15| >> :60:119:119:

Wednesday's papers: Paul Pogba, Jadon Sancho, Matthijs de Ligt

Manchester United have made a play for Matthijs de Ligt before and failed, but a potential player swap could change things.

What the papers say

Manchester United might use Paul Pogba, 27, as bait to sign Matthijs de Ligt from Juventus. The Holland international has not impressed since signing with the Italian giants last summer for £67.5million from Ajax. The Daily Star reports the centre-back, 20, has started just 15 Serie A matches amid knee and shoulder injuries, making him a prospect for United as they look to offload Pogba to his desired destination of Turin and recruit some young talent.

The only serious contenders for the signature of England international Jadon Sancho are United and Chelsea, according to the Daily Mirror. Liverpool had been rumoured to be interested in the Borussia Dortmund winger, but the paper reports the Merseysiders "are said by insiders to not even be monitoring the situation". Both the Blues and United have contacted the 20-year-old's representatives, but neither is yet willing to pay almost £100m to secure his signature.

Manchester United v Southampton – Premier League – Old Trafford
Alexis Sanchez is likely to return to Manchester United if the Serie A season is cancelled (Martin Rickett/PA)

Old Trafford bosses will be overjoyed if can secure Sancho, but likely less enthused about having to pay Alexis Sanchez a £1.1m loyalty payment when he returns in the summer. The Chile forward, who has also played for Arsenal and Barcelona, has had a less than stellar loan spell at Inter Milan, scoring just one goal in 15 appearances since August and leading the Italians to pass on signing him. If, as expected, the Serie A season is cancelled the 31-year-old will return to Manchester with two years remaining on his contract and United forced to make the loyalty payment.

Social media round-up

— The Sun Football ⚽ (@TheSunFootball) April 1, 2020

Players to watch

Gareth Bale: 90min.com reports Everton are planning to sign the 30-year-old Real Madrid forward and his Wales teammate Aaron Ramsey, 29, from Juventus.

Portugal v Netherlands – Nations League – Final – Estadio do Dragao
Cristiano Ronaldo may not be staying in Turin (Mike Egerton/PA)

Cristiano Ronaldo: The former Manchester United forward, 35, could be on the market as Juventus looks to further lower costs during the pandemic, according to the Daily Star, which cites Italy's Il Messaggero.

ID:395017: cacheID:395017:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:7818:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Timo Werner celebrates scoring for RB Leipzig on February 19, 2020
Read Next:
Sunday's papers: Timo Werner, Federico Valverde, Jude Bellingham
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City32227376324473
2Arsenal32225575264971
3Liverpool32218372314171
4Aston Villa33196868491963
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs32186865491660
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle321551269521750
7Manchester UnitedMan Utd32155124748-150
8West Ham UnitedWest Ham33139115258-648
9Chelsea31138106152947
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton321111105250244
11Wolverhampton WanderersWolves32127134651-543
12Fulham33126154951-242
13Bournemouth32119124757-1042
14Crystal Palace3289153754-1733
15Brentford3388174758-1132
16Everton3298153248-1627
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3379174258-1626
18Luton TownLuton3367204670-2425
19Burnley3348213368-3520
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd3237223084-5416


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!