Juventus 'reject Manchester United's world-record bid' for Paul Pogba

Sky Italia and The Guardian claim that the Italian champions have refused an opening offer of £85 million (€101m), which came with £15m (€18m) of performance bonuses attached which could have raised it to £100m in total.

Juventus reportedly turned down that offer and are insisting on a basic fee of £101m (€120), plus a further £8m (€10m) in add-ons.

Italy's La Stampa - the Turin paper owned by the Agnelli family, which controls Juventus as well as the Fiat car company - says a deal between the two clubs is close, while Corriere dello Sport reports that a compromise figure of £105m (€125m) will be agreed on shortly.

That would see Pogba’s fee exceed that of current record-holder Gareth Bale, who cost Real Madrid €100.8m when he moved from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013.

Pogba, 23, has won four successive Italian league titles with Juventus.

Should he join United, he would become a third high-profile recruit by new manager Jose Mourinho, after Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

And all roads now point to Manchester: Pogba' and his agent, Mino Raiola - who also represents both Ibrahimovic and Mkhitaryan - have apparently told Juve that they are determined to make the move happen.

The France midfielder left Old Trafford four years ago after failing to make a sustained first-team breakthrough.

He is reported to have agreed personal terms already - £250,000 a week for five years - with only the transfer fee set to be decided.

That was always going to be a record, but with Real Madrid out of the picture United clearly believed that they would get a free run.

It seems that Juventus are playing hardball regardless - and considering the state of United's midfield over the past couple of seasons, they must realise the desperation that United have to close this deal.

[MORE REPORTS: Paper Round: Mourinho axing United's new generation to make way for Pogba]

United are in China for a short pre-season trip but executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has stayed behind to lead the Pogba negotiations, according to several national newspapers.