Transfer news and rumours: Lionel Messi to join PSG, Arsenal to make £80m Paul Pogba offer, Manchester United 'crazy' over Mats Hummels

The biggest transfer news and rumours on Tuesday 24 February

Former Barcelona defender Eric Abidal believes Lionel Messi could be tempted away from the club if the opportunity of a new challenge arises, with the Frenchman claiming that an offer from Paris Saint-Germain could be enough to persuade him to leave the Nou Camp.

Speaking to French media outlet TF1, Abidal said: “Having won everything in Barcelona, maybe he would like another challenge, to win title with another club. PSG may be a club that would please him.”

Former Chelsea and Netherlands star Ruud Gullit has claimed that Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal was driven “crazy” in his attempt to sign Borussia Dortmund defender Mats Hummels last summer, according to the Manchester Evening News. Gullit admitted that in his eyes United needed to sign a top class centre-back for this season, but also tipped his compatriot to get the best out of his players for the rest of the season.

“The only thing for me that is a surprise is Van Gaal didn't buy any good central defenders, that had to be his priority,” said Gullit. “He was crazy about Hummels and wanted to buy him. So I would have bought Man United some good defenders because that was the weakest link. For me, that they did not was a surprise. Nevertheless, he gets results. The more results he gets, the more confidence they get and the better they will play."

Arsenal are being linked with an £80m bid for Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba in a bid to beat their closest rivals to the talented Frenchman. Pogba is wanted by the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid, but the Daily Express claims that the Gunners will make a club-record move for the 21-year-old in a bid to replace Mikel Arteta.

Pogba has been heavily linked with a move away from Juventus (Getty Images)

The same report claims one of Arsenal's top transfer targets Morgan Schneiderlin could reject a move to the Emirates after Barcelona expressed an interest in signing the current Southampton midfielder. However, Barcelona are not free to sign any players until the January transfer window in 2016 due to their current transfer embargo issued by Fifa.

Reports in Spain suggest that Liverpool could make a summer move for Juventus striker Alvaro Morata despite the Spaniard only moving to Turin at the start of the season after leaving Real Madrid. However, the report on Spanish website fichajes.net claims that Morata does not see a move to the Premier League as beneficial at this stage of his career, and would only favour a return to Madrid should he leave the reigning Italian champions.

Finally, the Daily Mirror claims that Newcastle manager John Carver halted Papiss Cisse’s move to United Arab Emirates side Al Ahli earlier this month after he returned from African Cup of Nations duty. Carver said: “I wanted to keep hold of him and I was supported 100% from Lee (Charnley, MD). It was a relief to be supported, to be honest, as it’s a good sign. I said before he went off to the African Nations that he was our top goalscorer and the only way you win matches is by scoring goals.”