Pogba, Xavi and Man Utd in the headlines – Saturday’s transfer round-up

Robin Bairner

• 9 Jul 2022 22:30 BST
• 4 min read

Saturday’s football transfer news was dominated by deals that could be done rather than those that have been completed.

The big clubs continue to position themselves for major deals, with Manchester United, Barcelona and Chelsea once again to the fore.

Here are the big five stories from 9 July in our daily round-up:

Paul Pogba’s transfer to Juventus is close

Paul Pogba is close to completing his return to Juventus. He underwent a medical this morning amid much fanfare in Turin.

Having signed Angel Di Maria earlier this week, Juventus will have a formidable side as they seek to reclaim the Serie A title next season.

Man Utd suffer more transfer woe

Manchester United’s transfer frustrations are ongoing on several fronts.

Ajax are blocking a move for Antony and Lisandro Martinez, despite Man Utd being apparently willing to pay their €125 million asking price.

Meanwhile, the Amsterdam club are set to sign Brian Brobbey in a deal that justifies Cristiano Ronaldo’s frustrations with the club.

Chelsea and PSG expected Barcelona’s Lewandowski transfer to fail

Barcelona have been chasing Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski unsuccessfully for months. With the Catalans making sluggish progress for the Poland international forward, Chelsea and PSG are both getting ready to pounce. Indeed, neither of these clubs expects Lewandowski to be heading to Camp Nou this summer.

Xavi’s Barcelona squad for pre-season tour hints at what’s ahead

Xavi is expected to name a strong Barcelona squad to take to the USA next week. While many of the expected faces will be missing – those players that the club is desperate to offload – there is one player who could be given an unexpected reprieve.

Where’s Neymar going?

There is still significant uncertainty over the future of PSG attacker Neymar, who the club apparently want to wash their hands of this summer.

Among the leading candidates to sign the Brazil international are Chelsea, Manchester United and Barcelona – but which of these clubs is he likeliest to go to?

Meanwhile, here’s what Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has said about his former PSG star in the past, hinting he could be interested.