Juventus players are the most sought after in this summer transfer window. Club duo Arturo Vidal and Paul Pogba are dominating the headlines this summer, as heavyweight clubs from Europe line up as potential suitors.
While Catalan daily Sport reported that Vidal is set for a shock move to Real Madrid, arch-rivals Barcelona have turned their attention to promising midfield maestro Pogba, and an agreement is also in place to sign the Frenchman.
While the Turin giants have gone on reiterating that the 22-year-old Frenchman is not for sale, the suitors have not backtracked. Juventus managing director Giuseppe Marotta has also gone on record to state that the Turin outfit have received a very high offer from Barcelona, but the Frenchman is not for sale.
"We received an offer of €80 million (£56.8m) but I can affirm that Pogba will not be sold." Marotta told Italian daily La Gazzetta dello Sport.
A meeting was held in Turin between Ariedo Braida, Barcelona sports director, and Marotta, to discuss the possibility of the sale of Pogba, according to Sport. It is believed that the Barca delegation asked the parties from Juventus to not consider bids from other clubs for the Frenchman this summer, and an agreement has already been finalised between the parties.
Although the Catalan giants are under a transfer embargo until January 2016, the club have said that they are looking to sign players this summer, and bring them at the Camp Nou only at the end of next season. Therefore, Juventus can have Pogba for one more season in Serie A.
The interest for the ex-Manchester United man has been seconded by Barcelona presidential hopeful Joan Laporta. The former club president, who bought big names like Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o to Camp Nou during his tenure, said that the European champions will sign Pogba if he is elected back to power.
"There is a player we like very much - Paul Pogba," he told BBC Sport.
"We know the agent of the player - that is key in this operation. We will have to negotiate with the agent and Juve."
Laporta was president of Barcelona between 2003 and 2010. Besides bringing high-profile players, La Masia graduates Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Gerard Pique also began their professional careers in this period.
Barcelona won the Champions League twice and La Liga on four occasions during his tenure.
Laporta is one of six candidates vying for the presidency of the Catalan giants, with the election set to take place on 18 July.
Pogba has a contract with Juventus until June 2019. He has also attracted interest from Manchester City, Chelsea, Paris St-Germain and Real Madrid this summer.
