Wednesday, 20th November, 2013
Juventus have a battle of wills on their hands to keep Paul Pogba at the club, with agent Mino Raiola suggesting the purchase of AC Milan's Ignazio Abate as an alternative to a wage increase.
Pogba's contract renewal has dominated headlines for Juventus in recent weeks, alongside that of his team-mate Arturo Vidal.
Pogba is contracted until 2016, and Raiola is demanding a €4m annual salary to come alongside any renewal according to Sportmediaset.
However, the alternative has been proposed by Raiola himself, who believes Juventus will have to buy another of his clients in Abate from Milan.
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Abate was a transfer target for Arsenal earlier this summer, but is believed to be contracted until 2015 with Milan.
Both players will require a significant financial investment in order for the deals to go through, but Pogba is valued at Juventus and the club's leadership have always emphasised the same.
With Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Arsenal and Chelsea all on the radar for him, it remains to be seen how long Juventus can hold out against Raiola's demands.
Manchester City's current head of elite development Patrick Vieira recently claimed the club had made a mistake by not signing Pogba when he left Manchester United last year.
The 20-year-old capped a productive Serie A season so far by helping France beat Ukraine 3-0 last night and secure World Cup qualification.
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