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Manchester United could make moves to sign Paul Pogba and Arturo Vidal, according to the Daily Mail.
In a sensational claim, the paper insist that David Moyes' Sardinian jaunt was to speak to Juventus executives over moves for the pair. Neither would come remotely cheap and Juventus have previously underlined their determination to hold on to both.
So, a ridiculous story? Well, yes. The reasons it's unlikely are so numerous and so vast that they're barely worth mentioning - Juve won't want to sell, both are under contract, et cetera et cetera. So let's look and see if there's any cause to be optimistic.
Firstly, the Daily Mail is generally reasonably reliable. Particularly with big exclusives and Manchester United stuff, too. They're not the Express or the Metro where the stories frequently aren't worth the bandwidth.
Secondly, David Moyes did change his plans at the last minute to go and see Juventus. Not the sort of thing you'd do to scout two players who are very obviously perfect for United, so there must have been developments of some kind.
So if there is anything in it, could we do a deal? Well, anything's possible, but the only way it happens is if United pay heavily - £35m each at a minimum - and the players themselves help force the move. Without those two things, neither is very likely at all. And certainly not this month. The paper says Moyes came away realising that, but is still determined to make his move.
We should at least point out one thing about Moyes - it's the insertion of 'you'll do' types into the club that prevented us from seriously challenging for the Champions League and ultimately led us to our current plight. It might just be worth the setbacks and frustration of only signing the very best players possible, be they established stars under contract at other clubs or developing youngsters, to ensure that we move on from that self-destructive policy.
