Pogba to Manchester United: Red Devils make first offer as Real Madrid rethink move for French midfielder

Manchester United are set to trump Real Madrid in the chase for Paul Pogba as the Spanish capital club is wary of upsetting senior players in the squad by making the Frenchman the second highest paid player in the squad. Juventus have made it clear that any club interested in signing the midfielder will have to break the world-record transfer fee that was paid to capture Gareth Bale from Tottenham.

According to the Sun, the wages and not the fee is the sticking point, which could see the Red Devils win the race to sign the in-demand midfielder. Pogba reportedly wants £200,000-a-week in wages, which will make him the second highest paid player at Real, if he moves to Spain. This has prompted the 11-time Champions League winners to have a rethink over a move for the Juventus midfielder.

Jose Mourinho, however, is not backing down and is said to have made a personal approach to convince the player to return to the club he left in 2012 owing to lack of regular playing time with the first-team. The Sun reports that United have already made an offer of around £80m ($109m) which indicates that they are ready to meet the Italian club's wishes and break the transfer record this summer.

Moreover, the 20-time English champions are willing to meet the player's demands and pay him £200,000-a-week in wages, which Real are unwilling to do for fear of upsetting senior players like Sergio Ramos and Pepe, who are on lower wages. The Portuguese manager is desperate to make a marquee signing this summer and believes Pogba is the perfect player to strengthen United's midfield, which has looked lacklustre in recent seasons.

The 23-year-old midfielder's agent Mino Raiola has indicated that his client could leave as he wants to grow, and revealed that he is fascinated by a number of top clubs across Europe including United, Real and Chelsea. Juventus are aware that they will struggle to hold on to their star player and have already found an able replacement in Miralem Pjanic, who was signed in a £28m deal from AS Roma earlier in the summer.