Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is desperate to improve his playing squad after a dismal end to the Premier League season which saw them finish sixth in the table.
An agreement with Swansea in a deal to bring Daniel James to the club got their summer transfer exploits underway, with their next incoming player expect to follow shortly.
Spanish outlet Sport have claimed that United have made contact with Barcelona over a possible deal to bring Croatia international Ivan Rakitic to the club.
The 31-year-old deep-lying playmaker has been a regular for the Catalan giants since joining from Sevilla in 2014.
Rakitic was part of the Croatia side that broke English hearts at last summer’s World Cup, and is said to have caught the eye of United.
The former Basel and Schalke midfielder was deployed behind the striker in his final season at Sevilla, going on to score 15 goals and assisting 18 in all competitions.
Rakitic could be brought to the club as a like-for-like replacement for France international Paul Pogba.
Sport indicate, however, that the former Inter Milan target is happy at Barcelona despite the prospect of improved terms being on the horizon.
Therefore, United would need to offer Rakitic a mega deal in order to have a chance of convincing him to move.
Pogba and Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane are keen for the player to move to the Bernabau, and the 26-year-old hit back at his critics this week ahead of his possible exit.
Pogba believes a lot of the criticism he’s receives for his attitude on an off the pitch, and outlined his outlandish hair styles as part and parcel of his personality.
“I always play like that and, thank God, I won the World Cup like that,” Pogba told The Times. “Body language, haircut, all these things is just to speak.
“Since I was a kid I play like this. It’s not a problem when we win. “
“Only when we lose or if I have a bad performance it becomes a problem.
“I become another player because of the transfer [back to United]. Because it was the biggest transfer of history at the time, you get judged differently.
“You expect more because of the price tag. A good game becomes a normal game, a top game will be a good game.”
When asked if he was worth the £89million price tag that United paid Juventus to require his services, Pogba outlined why he thinks the fee was so high.
He added: “It’s a big amount. It went down when other transfers came, so it’s fine. I think it’s also because I’m a midfielder.”