The European transfer window has less than two days to run, but Barcelona have seemingly not given up on signing Paul Pogba.
According to Spanish outlet Sport, the Catalans are reportedly "confident" that they will succeed in convincing two out of Pogba, Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Adrien Rabiot and Ajax starlet Frenkie de Jong to move to the Camp Nou before the end of the month.
Pogba has been linked with a move to Barcelona throughout the summer and a disappointing start to the season has done little to dispel suggestions his relationship with Jose Mourinho remains fraught.
However, it remains highly unlikely Manchester United will sanction his departure, particularly given they would have to wait until January to even consider buying a replacement.
While Pogba remains subject of transfer speculation, one of his teammates will be going nowhere for a while. The Times reports that Anthony Martial is on the verge of signing a five-year deal with United, putting to bed doubts over his future.
The Frenchman was not even in the squad as United were thrashed 3-0 by Tottenham Hotspur on Monday and has been linked with a move away from Old Trafford for months. Real Madrid, Chelsea, Spurs and Juventus have all been mentioned as potential suitors, amid rumors Mourinho wanted to sell Martial.
However, it appears the club has now convinced Martial to stay, which appears to suggest Mourinho's days at United could be coming to an end.
Martial isn't the only player set to stay put after being linked with a move for months, as Danny Rose is increasingly likely to remain at Spurs. The left-back has been the subject of interest from United, PSG and Schalke 04 at various stages this summer but he's forced his way into Mauricio Pochettino's plans for now and the Daily Mail believes he will remain in north London, at least until January.
PSG, however, could still welcome an import from England. In what would be one of the most surprising transfers of the summer, The Sun claims the French champions are closing in on the signing of Stoke City forward Maxim Choupo-Moting.
The Ligue 1 champions have sold Goncalo Guedes to Valencia for $46.9 million and want to replace him with the Cameroonian, while Stoke would be more than happy to offload Choupo-Moting's $78,000-a-week salary.
Elsewhere in France, L'Equipe claims Lyon have reached an agreement with Celtic for Moussa Dembele and are hoping to conclude a deal before the deadline. The 22-year-old has scored 51 goals in 94 appearances since moving north of the border from Fulham two years ago.
Meanwhile, the Mirror reports Olivier Giroud is happy to stay at Chelsea and fight for his place, despite being behind Alvaro Morata in the pecking order, and Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo suggests Everton are close to sending Sandro Ramirez on loan to Real Sociedad for the remainder of the season.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Dan Cancian is currently a reporter for Newsweek based in London, England. Prior to joining Newsweek in January 2018, he ... Read more
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