News Britannia: Stones rejects Barca; United offer Pogba sweetener
Barca have been following Stones since 2014 and were not put off by his drop in form last season but they have a crippling wage bill weighed down by the huge salaries of Neymar and Lionel Messi. Stones’ pace and two-footed ability on the ball had convinced them that he could be a long-term replacement for Javier Mascherano but Martin is understood to have made it clear their offer was considerably lower than those the 22-year-old has on the table from other Premier League suitors.Barcelona also believe their former coach Guardiola wants Stones and that even if City sign Athletic Bilbao defender Aymeric Laporte, it would not put them off trying to sign Stones too.The La Liga side had hoped footballing reasons would tempt Stones to La Liga but the prospect of working with Guardiola means he will not be moving to Spain.
Manchester United will offer defender Matteo Darmian to Juventus as part of a proposed deal for Paul Pogba.The Sun claim Jose Mourinho is desperate to add the France international to his squad this summer. A £60m bid was reportedly launched last week to bring the 23-year-old back to Old Trafford after being sold by the Red Devils in 2012. Juve have enquired about the possibility of signing Darmian and Mourinho is prepared offload the right-back.United signed the Italian last summer from Torino in a deal worth £12m. Darmian made an impressive start for the Red Devils, scooping the club’s August Player of the Month. His form dipped though and by the end of the campaign Antonio Valencia became first-choice at right-back. Pogba has made 124 appearances for Juventus, scoring 28 goals and winning Serie A on four occasions.The 23-year-old is currently on international duty with France as they prepare to kick-off Euro 2016 against Romania. Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester City and Chelsea have all been linked with Pogba in the past but Mourinho seems determined to add the midfielder to his ranks this summer.
OTHER HEADLINES:
Real Madrid are no longer interested in Manchester United and Spain goalkeeper David de Gea, 25 (Marca)
Arsene Wenger has fuelled speculation that N’Golo Kante could join Arsenal by piling praise on the Leicester midfielder ahead of Euro 2016 (Daily Mirror)
Chelsea full-back Cesar Azpilicueta, 26, is a target for Barcelona following the departure of 33-year-old Dani Alves (Daily Telegraph)
New Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has told Brazilian midfielder Oscar that he wants him to stay at Stamford Bridge (Daily Express)
Man United join Arsenal and Juventus in race for £25m Borussia Dortmund star Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Daily Mail)
Courtesy of @TEAMtalk
