Paul Pogba already fears he could be priced out of a move to Real Madrid this summer.

The France midfielder publicly admitted over the weekend that he wanted to leave Manchester United, with Real known to be his preferred destination, despite Juventus’ interest in bringing him back to Turin three years after his move to Old Trafford.

But United are sticking defiantly to their £160 million valuation of Pogba and the 26-year-old is already thought to be harbouring doubts about whether Real can make an offer big enough - and soon enough - to tempt the Manchester club to sell and still give them time to find a replacement.

Real value Pogba at much closer to the £89 million fee that United paid Juventus in 2016 but there is a growing realisation in Madrid that it could take a bid of about £150 million to force United to the table.

Having already committed more than £270 million in transfer fees this summer on Eden Hazard, Luka Jovic, Eder Militao, Ferland Mendy and Rodrygo, Real’s finances will not stretch that far unless they succeed in offloading a number of high profile, high earners such as Gareth Bale, James Rodriguez and Isco, and that is proving difficult.