Transfer news and rumours: No rush on Paul Pogba to Manchester United switch; Arsenal eye £80m for Gonzalo Higuain

Paul Pogba’s agent has reportedly refrained from setting a deadline on his client’s prospective £100m transfer to Manchester United, meaning the saga could run into the final few weeks of the summer window.

The 23-year-old recently described the Old Trafford club as his “first family” after leaving United in 2012 but, according to the Manchester Evening News, the willingness of all parties to get the deal over the line quickly hasn’t been translated into a set timeframe.

Pogba, who helped France reach the final of the European Championship this summer discussed the speculation last week. “I don’t know. Let’s see,” he said. “For the moment I'm at Juve and I'm happy. I don’t know where I want to go.”

Arsenal have been informed they must pay in the region of £80m if they wish to sign striker Gonzalo Higuain from Napoli this summer as Arsene Wenger fumes at the details of their interest being leaked into the press.

Wenger has held an interest in the Argentina striker for almost four years but failed with repeated efforts to lure him to the Emirates Stadium. Gazzetta World report that he will try one last attempt to sign the former Real Madrid this striker before moving onto other targets.

The Gunners have already failed with an attempt to sign Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy after the 29-year-old scored 24 goals to fire the Foxes to the Premier League title last season under Claudio Ranieri’s guidance.

Meanwhile, Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has been linked with a surprise move for Liverpool and Wales midfielder Joe Allen by the South Wales Evening Post.

Swansea City hope to secure a return to the Liberty Stadium for the 26-year-old but the bright lights of Old Trafford may prove too tempting to turn down if Mourinho’s reported interest turns out to be true.

The Reds are likely to be keen to get a deal with Swansea over the line quickly to prevent one of their players moving to bitter rivals United.

The Daily Telegraph say Liverpool, on the other hand, have “jumped to the head of the “queue” in their efforts to sign Georginio Wijnaldum from relegated Newcastle United.

Considered the perfect replacement for Allen, the Dutchman was among the rare positives from a dour season for the Magpies, which ended in relegation despite the best efforts of manager Rafael Benitez.

Newcastle have slapped a £27m price tag on Wijnaldum’s head which could prove to be a stumbling block as Liverpool look to be frugal ahead of the new Premier League campaign.

Antonio Conte, the Chelsea manager, has revealed winger Juan Cuadrado is a part of his plans despite spending the previous season out on loan with Italian champions Juventus.

The Columbian was cut adrift by former manager Mourinho at Stamford Bridge but Conte, who has promised to restore the Blues to being title contenders this season, has taken a contrary view.

He said: “Juan Cuadrado is a Chelsea player. He will come back very soon. He's in our squad, I'm very happy to have him and train him.

“I wanted him when I was a coach at Juventus and he will come back very soon and train and play with us. Now, he's a Chelsea player and he'll stay with us. If something changes you'll know.”