Manchester United transfer news: Paul Pogba latest as James Rodriguez linked to Old Trafford

All the latest transfer news and rumours from Old Trafford on Friday 22 July

The first £100m football player in history? (Getty)

The Paul Pogba saga continues to roll on. Mino Raiola, the player's agent, recently denied reports of a deal being in place for the midfielder to join Manchester United.

Raiola tweeted from his account that: “There is no deal done regarding Paul Pogba, lots of bla bla bla.”

Reports on Wednesday night claimed that United had reached a verbal agreement with Pogba but so far there have been no significant developments to confirm this.

This follows Jose Mourinho’s warning that fans needed to remain realistic over the Pogba deal. He suggested that the club is keeping its options open within a volatile transfer market but stressed that United is in a “comfortable position”.

Mourinho even implied that the club had other suitors waiting in the wings. “We have two more options in front of us and we are going to close one”, he said.

Elsewhere, the International Business Times has claimed that United are also preparing a £54m bid to sign Colombian midfielder James Rodriguez.

It’s quite possible that Rodriguez has been lined up as one of Mourinho’s alternatives should the Pogba deal fail and it’s been reported that the player’s agent, Jorge Mendes, reportedly sat down with United vice-chairman Ed Woodward last week to sort an agreement.

How Woodward managed to fit this in amidst all the Paul Pogba antics remains another question entirely…

Juan Mata’s future remains unclear as ever. Mourinho clearly indicated that he has “space” in his squad for the Spaniard, who he believes would be “useful to the club”.

But while the Portuguese coach admitted that he has no plans to sell the 28-year-old, he also stressed that he would be open to selling any player who was unhappy at the club which suggests that Mata himself could request a move.

Last but not least, Monaco full-back Fabinho will become a United player “very soon” – that’s according to Italian journalist Emanuele Giulianelli. The 22-year-old is expected to be subject to an offer worth around £25m in the coming days and could be arriving at Old Trafford very shortly. Fabinho has been impressing in Ligue 1 and is touted as one for the future.