Something is happening between Manchester United and Paul Pogba

There have today been a flurry of stories that have linked Manchester United with a move for Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba. Nothing out of the ordinary clickbaiting, you may think. But these rumours have come with a difference: they've featured in articles from two very high-profile and well-connected journalists, namely the Guardian's Daniel Taylor, and the Independent's Mark Ogden, formerly the Telegraph's man in Manchester.

Taylor writes:

Manchester City have left the way open for Manchester United to pursue Paul Pogba after deciding not to go after the France international as part of a summer of extensive transfer recruitment preparing for Pep Guardiola's first season in charge.

United are now weighing up whether to turn their long-standing interest in bringing Pogba back to Old Trafford into an official offer to Juventus.

While Ogden has suggested United's interest is even more concrete:

Manchester United have moved into pole position to lure Paul Pogba back to the Premier League with Pep Guardiola ruling out an attempt to attract the Juventus midfielder to Manchester City.

Pogba, 23, is Jose Mourinho's priority midfield target with the Portuguese determined to build a title-winning team at Old Trafford following his appointment as United manager last month.

It seems unlikely that such well-respected journalists would run with a story from a disreputable source, and unlikely they'd simply parrot one another. It seems that there really could be some fire beneath the smoke. Of course, that isn't to say that it's necessarily from United: it could well be one of Pogba's entourage briefing in an attempt to drum up interest from someone else. But there is also the chance it really is someone at Old Trafford, laying the foundations for what would certainly be the most spectacular transfer swoop of the summer. This is certainly one to keep an eye on.