United cut as Pogba move edges closer
PUNTERS are latching on to Manchester United to capture their first Premier League title since 2013 as the Old Trafford outfit closed on a deal to make Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba the world's most expensive player.
BoyleSports cut the Red Devils to 7-2 for title glory on Friday as it became clear that the deal for the 23-year-old Frenchman, who played for the United academy and made three appearances before leaving the club in 2012, will be completed imminently.
That represents quite a move from the 6-1 that was available in May before Jose Mourinho replaced Louis van Gaal as manager.
In the same period, Premier League favourites Manchester City, now under the guidance of former Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola, have been pushed out to 9-4 from 13-8 to claim the title they last won in 2014.
Pogba is expected to cost United somewhere in the region of £100m and Mourinho has already forked out £30m each on Borussia Dortmund midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Ivory Coast defender Eric Bailly from Villarreal.
But reports suggested the former Chelsea, Inter and Real Madrid manager is set to clear the decks with Germany's Bastian Schweinsteiger one of the stars set to be shown the door.
The 31-year-old announced his international retirement yesterday, while there are reports Adnan Januzaj, Will Keane and James Wilson's days at Old Trafford may also be numbered.
Cameron Borthwick-Johnson, Tim Fosu-Mensah, Tyler Blackett and Paddy McNair, all of whom gained first-team experience under Van Gaal, are also expected to be shown the door by the new manager.
Top European magazine FranceFootball reported on Friday that Mourinho was also interested in signing West Ham's Dimitri Payet.
The midfielder, who enjoyed a great first season at the Hammers after signing from Marseille, is 16-1 with Betfair to join United before the closure of the transfer window at the end of next month.
One player heading to the Stade Velodrome is Swansea striker Bafetimbi Gomis, who will be joining Marseille on a season-long loan. He scored seven goals in 35 appearances for the Swans last season.
Premier League new boys Middlesbrough have completed the signing of Aston Villa's Brad Guzan on a two-year deal.
Guzan is the second goalkeeper Boro have signed this summer after they captured former Barcelona and Manchester United cat Victor Valdes.
In the Sky Bet Championship, QPR's Armand Traore has joined Nottingham Forest on a free transfer.
Celtic are 11-1 to beat Barcelona in the International Champions Cup in Dublin on Saturday night, despite the fact Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi is likely to play only a minor role.
The game at the Aviva Stadium will be Barca’s first outing of the summer – their Spanish Super Cup clash with Seville is a fortnight away – while it will be Celtic’s tenth game of pre-season after their midweek Champions League trip to Kazakhstan to face Astana.
New Bhoys defender Kolo Toure is likely to be rested to make his debut in the second leg on Wednesday.
Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtois and Diego Costa are all expected to feature for Chelsea against Real Madrid. Cesc Fabregas will not play after being sent off in their 1-0 win over Liverpool, while Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale are also set to miss out.
Inter will be looking to bounce back from a 3-1 defeat to PSG when they face Bayern Munich.
