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Wednesday's papers: Paul Pogba, Jadon Sancho, Matthijs de Ligt

Manchester United have made a play for Matthijs de Ligt before and failed, but a potential player swap could change things.

What the papers say

Manchester United might use Paul Pogba, 27, as bait to sign Matthijs de Ligt from Juventus. The Holland international has not impressed since signing with the Italian giants last summer for £67.5million from Ajax. The Daily Star reports the centre-back, 20, has started just 15 Serie A matches amid knee and shoulder injuries, making him a prospect for United as they look to offload Pogba to his desired destination of Turin and recruit some young talent.

The only serious contenders for the signature of England international Jadon Sancho are United and Chelsea, according to the Daily Mirror. Liverpool had been rumoured to be interested in the Borussia Dortmund winger, but the paper reports the Merseysiders "are said by insiders to not even be monitoring the situation". Both the Blues and United have contacted the 20-year-old's representatives, but neither is yet willing to pay almost £100m to secure his signature.

Manchester United v Southampton – Premier League – Old Trafford
Alexis Sanchez is likely to return to Manchester United if the Serie A season is cancelled (Martin Rickett/PA)

Old Trafford bosses will be overjoyed if can secure Sancho, but likely less enthused about having to pay Alexis Sanchez a £1.1m loyalty payment when he returns in the summer. The Chile forward, who has also played for Arsenal and Barcelona, has had a less than stellar loan spell at Inter Milan, scoring just one goal in 15 appearances since August and leading the Italians to pass on signing him. If, as expected, the Serie A season is cancelled the 31-year-old will return to Manchester with two years remaining on his contract and United forced to make the loyalty payment.

Social media round-up

— The Sun Football ⚽ (@TheSunFootball) April 1, 2020

Players to watch

Gareth Bale: 90min.com reports Everton are planning to sign the 30-year-old Real Madrid forward and his Wales teammate Aaron Ramsey, 29, from Juventus.

Portugal v Netherlands – Nations League – Final – Estadio do Dragao
Cristiano Ronaldo may not be staying in Turin (Mike Egerton/PA)

Cristiano Ronaldo: The former Manchester United forward, 35, could be on the market as Juventus looks to further lower costs during the pandemic, according to the Daily Star, which cites Italy's Il Messaggero.

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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool22165154213353
2Arsenal23138244212347
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2313553327644
4Manchester CityMan City23125647301741
5Newcastle UnitedNewcastle23125641271441
6Chelsea23117545301540
7Bournemouth23117541261540
8Aston Villa2310763435-137
9Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2381053531434
10Fulham238963431333
11Brentford2394104240231
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd2385102832-429
13Crystal Palace236982630-427
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham2376102844-1627
15Tottenham HotspurSpurs2373134637924
16Everton225891928-923
17Leicester CityLeicester2345142549-2417
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2344153252-2016
19Ipswich TownIpswich2337132147-2616
20Southampton2313191653-376


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