Paul Pogba has completed his return to Juventus from Manchester United, the Italian club have confirmed.
The midfielder has signed a four-year contract having left United upon the expiry of his deal there. In a statement, Juventus said: “Paul is back in Turin. He left as a boy and returns as a man and a champion, but there is one thing that has not changed – the desire to write unforgettable pages of club history together once more. Pogba is back and we couldn’t be happier.”
Pogba made 177 appearances for the Bianconeri during his first spell there, winning nine major honours including four consecutive Serie A titles. He left the club to join United in 2016 for a then world-record fee of £89m, having left the Old Trafford club to join Juve in 2012.
Pogba won the League Cup and Europa League with United but, generally, endured a difficult time upon his return to England from Italy, which included a very public fallout with José Mourinho, who signed the midfielder during his time as United manager. In total, the Frenchman made 233 appearances across two spells at Old Trafford, scoring 39 goals.
“I’m back and very happy,” said Pogba, who will wear the No 10 shirt at Juventus. “I can’t wait to start with you and win trophies again.”
Elsewhere, Crystal Palace have signed Cheick Doucouré from Ligue 1 side Lens. The 22-year-old midfielder has joined the south London club on a five-year deal, for a fee of around £20m. “I’m very happy,” Doucouré said. “I feel a lot of joy and a lot of pride to be a Palace player. I’m proud to be at Palace today.”
Doucouré made 34 appearances for Lens last season as they finished seventh in Ligue 1, just four points shy of the European places. Steve Parish, Palace’s chairman, said: “Cheick’s arrival is yet another statement of intent, demonstrating our ambition to further improve the squad this summer.”
Neco Williams has completed his move from Liverpool to Nottingham Forest. The Wales right-back joins the newly promoted side on a four-year contract for £16m, having come up through Liverpool’s academy to make 33 senior appearances for the Merseyside club.
“I’m really excited to join Nottingham Forest and to help this great club move forwards in the Premier League,” Williams said. “Forest are a club with incredible history and the City Ground is a very special venue that I can’t wait to experience in full voice in the coming weeks.”
The 21-year-old is Forest’s sixth summer signing – the joint-most in the Premier League so far with Leeds – as they look to cement their place back in the top flight. Williams joins fellow defender Omar Richards, who completed his move from Bayern Munich to Forest on Sunday.
Brentford are close to signing Keane Lewis-Potter from Hull for £16m. The winger has left the Tigers’ pre-season camp in Marbella in order to complete the deal and will become Brentford’s record signing when he joins on what is expected to be a six-year deal.
Lewis-Potter’s arrival will be the second time in a matter of days that Brentford have broken their transfer record, having done so with the arrival of Aaron Hickey from Bologna on Saturday for an initial £14m.
