​Manchester City will continue to fight for Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba, despite the star's heart being set on a move to Barcelona, according to ​The Mail.





City insist they are yet to make a formal approach for the 22-year-old, contrary to reports in Italy which claimed an £82m bid had been lodged by the Citizens.





The Mail report states that City are not prepared to pay such a fee for Pogba, despite holding him in high regard, but says they will continue to pull out all the stops to sign the Frenchman nonetheless.









However, the Blues are also aware of Pogba's desire to complete a move to Barcelona and have allegedly drawn up a list of alternatives should they miss out on his signature, including reported Manchester United target Roberto Firmino.





Barca presidential candidate Agusti Benedito says he has already spoken to Pogba regarding a transfer to the European champions.





"I have spoken to Pogba," he said. "First I contacted Andrea Agnelli (the Juventus president) then spoke directly with the player.





"They have proposed an annual salary of €12million after tax and a transfer fee of €80million”





The Catalans are not allowed to register any new players until January 2016, but have already been active in this summer's transfer window, signing Sevilla wing-back Aleix Vidal.





While it remains unclear if Pogba would be prepared to miss the first half of the campaign by moving to the Camp Nou in 2015, Juve boss Max Allegri admits it will be a struggle to keep hold of him.





He said: "A Pogba transfer? Obviously it would be a decision made by the club and not by the technical team. When you talk about certain figures, it’s difficult to say no."







