Major bookmakers have gone odds-on about Paul Pogba leaving Manchester United for Real Madrid this summer on the back of his agent revealing plans for an exit.

United began pre-season training on Monday but Pogba has not participated, with the club claiming he had obtained permission from manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to link up with his team-mates at a later date.

His agent Mino Raiola has since told The Times: "Everyone knows the willingness of Paul to move on. We are in the process of that. Everyone knows what the feelings of Paul are."

That has put punters and sportsbook traders on red alert, with 888Sport shortening Real Madrid to 1/2 (-200) to sign him this summer, although some other top bookmakers haven’t quite reacted as drastically, with 8/11 (-137) widely available too.

Pogba has been linked with Real Madrid every summer since his club transfer record move to Old Trafford in 2016, and the 26-year-old has often lapped up the reports, particularly during compatriot Zinedine Zidane’s spells in charge at the Bernabeu.

However, Pogba’s Juventus link remains strong and the club where he made his name are second in the betting on his future, although the Old Lady has drifted out to 9/2 (+450) in some places, 3/1 (+300) in others.

Pogba's Transfer Hint

Last month, the midfielder fuelled news of a summer transfer by saying “it could be a good time to have a new challenge somewhere else” whilst on a sponsorship trip to Japan.

That saw Madrid’s price crash to as low as 8/11 (-137) before drifting back out to 7/4 (+175) as interest seemingly cooled.

Although the odds have been fluctuating regularly, Madrid appear to be in control of the market having not lost favourtism since the betting was opened in March.

The summer transfer window for Premier League clubs shuts on August 8, but La Liga clubs can still complete signings until September 2. For Italy’s Serie A, the deadline is August 23.

Beyond Real Madrid and Juventus, interest in Pogba’s signature seems scarce.

Barcelona flirted with the notion of signing him last summer on the back of his admirable and triumphant World Cup campaign with France, but a bid never materialised and they now appear content with their midfield options, prompting their price to buy Pogba to drift out to 50/1 (+5000) with Bet365.