Football
David Amoyal, ESPN.com writer 8y

Rumours rated - Pogba to Man United, Bonucci to Man City, more

There's a lot of talk and speculation but, when it comes to transfers, how do you separate fact from fiction? David Amoyal looks at some of the current rumours and predicts how likely the proposed moves are to actually happening. 

Paul Pogba to Manchester United: 30 percent

After closing deals for two of his biggest clients, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Manchester United are leveraging their relationship with agent Mino Raiola to bring back Pogba to Old Trafford. Juventus would like to keep the French midfielder, especially now that they have a legitimate shot at the Champions League after adding Dani Alves and Miralem Pjanic.

But United have presented Raiola an offer of wages worth €13 million -- net of taxes -- per season, which is more than double what Pogba currently earns and will try to convince Juventus with a bid of over €100m. The Italian side don't need the money and, since Pogba is only 23, there will be a huge market for him beyond this summer. As such, it will come down to the player having to push for a move for a deal to happen. 

Leonardo Bonucci to Manchester City: 15 percent

The Juventus defender has always been one of Pep Guardiola's favorite players, so it's not surprising to see him linked to Manchester City, especially after his great performances at Euro 2016. Juventus turned down a bid of €45m but, since then, Bonucci's agent has travelled to England to meet with City. Just like with Pogba, any deal is contingent on the player pushing for a move; Bonucci's strong ties to Juve make this a long shot. As an alternative, City are interested in Everton's John Stones.

Juan Cuadrado to Juventus: 55 percent

Cuadrado would like to stay at the Serie A champions, for whom he excelled last season on loan, and Juventus don't have many players with his attributes so they are working on another loan deal with an option to buy set at around €24m. While new Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is a fan of Cuadrado, he may look for a player better suited to the Premier League; Chelsea have been linked to Sofiane Boufal and Antonio Candreva.

Carlos Bacca to West Ham: 50 percent

Bacca is now 30 years old and doesn't have the attributes for the style of play that suits new Milan coach Vincenzo Montella. West Ham have been pursuing the Colombian striker and, as Gianluca Di Marzio has reported, an agreement has been reached for €30m, which is what Milan spent to acquire Bacca last summer. The Hammers now need to meet salary demands of around €4m after tax to close the deal, but need to remain vigilant as Atletico Madrid are also showing interest.

Piotr Zielinski to Liverpool: 25 percent

Liverpool have been pursuing the Polish midfielder but failed to reach an agreement with Udinese, who still own Zielinski's rights. That has left the door open for Milan to jump into the race and Montella has identified the 22-year-old as his top target in midfield. Milan have a great relationship with Udinese and are optimistic they can close the deal quickly.

Alexandre Lacazette to Arsenal: 15 percent

After West Ham made an attempt to sign the French striker, Arsenal have been linked once again but there is less momentum for Lacazette to leave Lyon. The player is less convinced he wants to push for a move and his club have less urgency to sell after qualifying for the Champions League, opening a new stadium and cashing in on Samuel Umtiti. Arsenal may go back to pursuing Gonzalo Higuain, Mauro Icardi and Alvaro Morata instead.

Marko Pjaca to Borussia Dortmund: 15 percent

Dortmund are looking to replace Mkhitaryan but the German club are at a serious disadvantage because Pjaca appears to want to play in Italy. Milan executive director Adriano Galliani travelled to Croatia to try to close the deal with Dinamo Zagreb, while Juventus has Mario Mandzukic recruiting Pjaca to Turin. Juve appear to be favorites at the moment; they see Pjaca as a great replacement for Morata.

Axel Witsel to Premier League: 65 percent

Everton looked poised to close a deal last weekend, but the club could not reach an agreement with Witsel's agents. Napoli tried to take advantage but weren't able to meet the asking price. Witsel and Zenit's high financial demands -- €25m transfer fee, €4m  net salary -- make it more likely he will play in England; Chelsea will compete with Everton after not being able to land Radja Nainggolan.

Christian Benteke to Crystal Palace: 60 percent

Palace are looking to sign a big-name striker after adding Steve Mandanda and James Tomkins and, while Benteke was looking to see if he had other options, he is running out of time. With West Ham intensifying their pursuit of Bacca, Selhurst Park is likely to be the Belgian's best option, especially after the club agreed to meet his salary demands.

Nathaniel Clyne to Barcelona: 5 percent

Clyne is very happy at Liverpool and, while Barcelona are looking to replace Dani Alves, they will not seriously pursue the right-back. Instead, Barca will focus their attention on Valencia's Joao Cancelo, who arrived in Spain last summer from Benfica.

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