Paul Pogba is reportedly the target of growing interest from Premier League sides, as the French midfielder continues talks to end his contract with Juventus.

The 31-year-old swapped Manchester United for Turin in 2022 after a tumultuous stint which saw him play for the club 233 times and score 39 goals.

He had arrived at Old Trafford in 2016 for a world-record £89m fee but failed to meet lofty expectations and fall-outs with a string of managers meant his future was uncertain for his last three years at the side.

A year after his move to Juventus, Pogba was hit with a four-year doping ban after a drugs test found increased levels of testosterone in his system. The star was handed a lifeline last month when the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced the sanction from four years to 18 months following an appeal, meaning he can return in March.

The Italian side are expected to terminate Pogba’s contract regardless and clubs from the MLS, Saudi Arabia, and the Premier League are among those showing interest in giving him a platform for a comeback, Sky Sports reports.

The Frenchman’s current deal was due to run until summer 2026 but exiting his contract would mean he is free to talk to other teams about a move, with Marseille emerging as a frontrunner last month.

Juventus have engaged in early discussions with representatives from the French side, including sporting director and former defender Medhi Benatia. Official negotiations are not believed to have started yet.

The 31-year-old’s career looked to be finished after he was slapped with a four-year ban in February but this week’s reprieve has given him a second chance.

The suspension, which began in September 2023, will now end next March, with the midfielder able to train from January.

In CAS’ final judgement it was confirmed that Pogba did inadvertently take DHEA, a substance that boosts testosterone that is on WADA’s banned list.

Crucially, however, the ruling states that DHEA only has an affect on females.

Pogba’s appeal took place at CAS’ HQ in Switzerland at the end of August and the player has only recently been informed of the verdict.

The French World Cup winner later released a statement in which he celebrated the end of ‘the nightmare’.

ESPN pundit Luis Miguel Echegaray does not think Rasmus Højlund is a 20-goal-a-season striker and has advised Manchester United’s incoming coach Rúben Amorim to sign a much bigger name center forward in the mould of Victor Osimhen.

Højlund joined Manchester United from Atalanta in August 2023, signing a five-year deal, with the option of a further year.

Since making his Reds debut in September 2023, the Denmark international has scored 18 goals in 55 games across all competitions, almost a goal every three games, statistically suggesting that he’s not the player to take Manchester United to the promised land.

Luis Miguel Echegaray feels the Scandinavian player is not the answer to United’s goalscoring issues, and has urged the club to bring in a marquee center forward.

Manchester United scored 57 goals in the 2023-2024 Premier League season, the fewest goals among the teams finishing in the top half of the table.

Manchester United were heavily linked with Osimhen before the capture of Højlund but it is believed the Old Trafford side were priced out of a move, with Napoli valuing the 2015 Fifa U17 World Cup winner at 130 million euros.

Echegaray has criticized United for passing up the opportunity to sign Osimhen and Aston Villa’s England international Ollie Watkins.

Speaking on ESPN FC Live, he said: “There’s no denying his talent but the biggest criticism of United from my side, leaving aside Erik ten Hag, leaving aside the management, is the recruitment.

“You had options to go into players like Victor Osimhen, even try to target someone like Ollie Watkins but you said no, I’m going to scout somebody else, I’m going to go in another direction.

“There’s no denying the talent of Højlund but is he going to be your main guy, that’s up to Rúben Amorim to decide but in my opinion the next step for United is to find a striker that can really echo and imitate everything that is being produced going forward.”

Osimhen has gotten off to a blistering start at Galatasaray, registering 12 goal involvements (8 goals, 4 assists) in 8 matches.

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Liverpool is interested in signing Nottingham Forest defender Murillo, irrespective of whether Virgil van Dijk stays at the club or leaves.

The 22-year-old Brazilian has made a big impression at Forest since moving to the City Ground from Corinthians last year and has played in every minute of his team’s 11 Premier League games so far this season.

It is claimed by CaughtOffside that Liverpool admires Murillo and views him as a possible replacement for Van Dijk, although the Reds could move for Murillo even if the Dutchman extends his stay at Anfield beyond the end of the season. The same report says that Sporting Lisbon’s Goncalo Inacio is also being looked at as a possible defensive addition to Arne Slot’s squad.

Regarding Van Dijk’s future, he is one of three key players who are set to become free agents at the end of the current campaign. Van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold have all been integral to Liverpool’s most successful period in decades, but all three players are into the final eight months of their contracts.

Of the three players, Van Dijk has been the most publicly vocal about his wish to stay at Liverpool, saying in September that he wants to remain at the club until at least the 2026 World Cup.

Then, last month he provided an update on negotiations: “I can say obviously discussions are ongoing, but I don’t know, we will see what happens in the future. My full focus is on Liverpool, wanting to win games that are ahead of me and nothing else. What the future will bring I have no idea at the moment. I can only tell you that discussions have been started and we will see.”

Alexander-Arnold said in September that he has no intention of letting his contract talks play out in public, while Salah, besides making a couple of statements that have been branded cryptic in some quarters, has not hinted at whether he would rather stay or leave.

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