Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for free
Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter
Chelsea are ready to pursue the transfer of Paul Pogba up until the close of the transfer window at 6pm this evening, it's understood.
After a stuttering start to the season, Jose Mourinho is keen to bolster his ranks, particularly from a defensive point of view.
The Blues have just four points from four games, a return that Mourinho admitted after the loss to Crystal Palace on Saturday represented a "very bad" start to the season.
Having failed to land Everton defender John Stones, Chelsea are thought to be concentrating on Pogba. Talks have been held with Juventus but the Serie A side are reluctant to let the defensive midfielder leave.
Chelsea 1 Crystal Palace 2 player ratings
Show all 23
It was reported yesterday by Italian journalist Tancredi Palmeri that an offer of £87.5m - an increase from the proposed £72m deal that had been mooted earlier in the window - might be enough to secure the deal.
In addition, reports suggest Chelsea will have to pay Pogba around £16.5m a year – which equates to over £300,000-a-week – making the France international the highest paid footballer in the Premier League.
When Mourinho was last asked about Pogba, he refused to discuss it beyond saying the arrival of a new player before the close of the window would be "good".
"I'm not going to do the 'like', 'I would like' of Pogba. He's a Juventus player, I'm the Chelsea manager," he said.
He added: "I have a good squad. I'm happy with the squad I have. If I get another player until the end of the market, good. If I don't get, we go with what we have."
The Independent has launched a new football app! Live scores, in-game stats, breaking news, videos and push notifications are just some of the many features. Use the links below to download and get more from Indy Football...
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies