Alexis Sanchez update, PSG want €190 million duo in exchange for Neymar, Pogba desperate for Real Madrid move and more: Transfer Roundup, 16 August 2019

Hello and welcome to Sportskeeda's Daily Transfer Roundup. Top-flight European football has returned to restore weekend entertainment into our schedules and we couldn't be more grateful for it. As things heat up on the football field, clubs across Europe continue to work just as hard off the pitch on the transfer front.

Without further ado, let's take a look at the top transfer news, rumours and updates of the day.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says United are counting on Alexis Sanchez amid AS Roma links

Manchester United's frontline is all about pace and precision. They dismantled Chelsea in exactly 4 of those moves, and it took them less than 16 seconds to transform fully from defence to attack. Romelu Lukaku wouldn't have been a great fit for the team Ole is trying to build and question marks were being raised about the future of Alexis Sanchez as well.

Sanchez has recently been linked with a move to AS Roma. However, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has indicated that Sanchez's role in the side will gain more importance now after Lukaku's departure. There were also reports suggesting that Solskjaer had asked Sanchez to train with the reserves.

The Chilean returned for training later than the rest of the squad owing to his participation in the Copa America. Solskjaer has rubbished the reports which claimed that he's been put with the reserves.

Speaking to the press ahead of the second Premier League gameweek, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said,

"Alexis is such a professional. He comes in working every single day, really hard. He wants to be part of this. These stories that he’s been put in the reserves – of course he hasn’t. He’s part of our squad and he’s a very good player. He’s a few weeks behind the rest but he’s very close to being part of it.

"We don’t have the biggest forward line so Alexis might end up playing a lot more games than you expect. We expect him to come good at this club. He’s quality."

Mauricio Pochettino says he is not sure about Christian Eriksen's future

Christian Eriksen may yet leave Spurs before the end of the summer transfer window

Christian Eriksen continues to be one of the protagonists of this summer's transfer window. After being linked with a last-minute exit amid interest from Manchester United, the Dane decided to continue at Tottenham Hotspur.

The midfielder, however, is into the last year of his contract with Spurs and with chances of an extension being minimal, he continues to be linked with a move to Spain with Real Madrid being one of the potential destinations before the transfer window closes for the rest of Europe.

On being asked about Eriksen's situation, the Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino said,

"I don't know (if he will be at the club after the window),"

"My point is to help all of the players, my job is to support them all until they maybe decide to take a different way in their career."

Zinedine Zidane says Bale will be used as much as any player following Hazard's injury

In what is quite a bit of sad news on the eve of their season opener, Real Madrid forward Eden Hazard has picked up a hamstring injury and is bound to be sidelined for 4-8 weeks. As such, Gareth Bale's role in the upcoming season has once again become a topic of discussion.

Bale was initially all set to be offloaded. However, Marco Asensio's injury meant that Real Madrid had to keep him and now with Hazard also unavailable, Zizou has no choice but to turn to the Welshman.

Speaking about Bale, the Real Madrid manager said,

“It seemed that he was going, but now he is with us,”

“Things change and now I will be using him as much as the other players in the squad. I'm going to use all the players I've got. He is registered with us and he is a good player. I hope all the players here want to make things difficult for me."

Paul Pogba's brother talks up Real Madrid; take shots at Manchester United

Pogba put in quite a shift against Chelsea

Mathias Pogba claims that his brother and Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba wants to leave Manchester United. He said that the Frenchman cannot do everything on his own and should be let to join Real Madrid where he can add a lot of quality and joy to the side.

Pogba had admitted earlier this summer that he is looking for a 'new challenge'. However, he has kept his head down and trained hard under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as the Norwegian tries to bring Manchester United out of a rut. Pogba picked up 2 assists in Manchester United's season opener against Chelsea.

However, he commented following the game that there is a huge question mark over his future and now his brother Mathias' comments are on the same lines. He said,

‘Zidane is one of the greats and I think that if the club give him what he wants, he won’t have a problem, but if they don’t give it to him, he’s going to have a hard time because what he wants is not going to happen, because right now it’s a little late,’

‘My brother is missing and I think he needs another midfielder. ‘Of course Florentino [Perez] can get him, nothing is impossible in life. ‘I don’t think he’s worth 200 million, but now the football world is like that, Manchester are going to ask for a lot, but not 200. ‘It’s a delicate situation but the player has his personal goals, if you have to leave, well, that’s it.

‘If you can’t stay and play where you are, you can stay and you’re done. I can’t assure you that he is going to stay at United. ‘We know he wanted to move, but he’s not to blame. He’s waiting. He works hard and we’ll see what happens.

Paris Saint-Germain want Coutinho and Dembele in exchange for Neymar

The way things are going, Neymar returning to the Camp Nou before the transfer window shuts is becoming a real possibility. Paris Saint-Germain are ready to negotiate and are now holding talks with Barcelona. They have told Barcelona that the Catalans need to match Neymar's valuation of €222 million either in cash or via a player exchange.

Barcelona offered Ivan Rakitic and Philippe Coutinho in exchange for Neymar. Even though Paris Saint-Germain are interested in both midfielders, they do not think that the combined value of both of them are close to that of Neymar's. As such, they have asked for Frenchman Ousmane Dembele to be included as part of the deal.

Barcelona, on the other hand, believe that Neymar's value has dropped over the past year and were not initially willing to part with Dembele. However, there is no saying they won't go ahead and pull off the deal as they know that Neymar could improve the team in a way no other player could.

Edited by Sripad