Paul Pogba, Karim Benzema and Kevin De Bruyne... Who are the big names that could come to the Premier League this summer?

• Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba has been linked with all the big English clubs
• Manchester City are preparing a move for Lars Bender as a contingency plan
• Manchester United have earmarked Bastian Schweinsteiger for their midfield
• Former Chelsea man Kevin De Bruyne could move to City in a £45m switch
• Karim Benzema could quit Real Madrid for the Premier League's top clubs
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The Premier League is crying out for new stars to sparkle next season yet our clubs are facing an arduous task in convincing Europe's elite that England is the place to be.

Italy, led by Juventus, are enjoying a renaissance; Spain's big two remain dominant; Bayern Munich want to build again while the nouveaux riche at Paris Saint-Germain want it all. 

Here, Sportsmail spotlights some of the stars in demand.

 

PAUL POGBA

Juventus

Cost: £65million

Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea would all like the Juventus midfielder but his agent Mino Raiola is blunt about the player going to the highest bidder.

PSG want the French international to spearhead their Champions League push next season as do Barcelona who can do a deal from January 2016.

Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea would all like to sign Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba

Raiola said: 'Offers are already coming in, but Juventus don't want to sell, they must make it an auction. His transfer would be one of the most expensive in history.

 

LARS BENDER

Bayer Leverkusen

Cost: £22m

City have drawn up contingency plans should they fail to land Pogba and Germany international Bender is one of the names on their list.

The 26-year-old has also been watched extensively by Arsenal and Manchester United. Twin brother of Dortmund's Sven, Lars is a rangy defensive minded midfielder who is comfortable bringing the ball out of defence.

City have drawn up contingency plans should they fail to land Pogba with Lars Bender a potential target

He is a German international and is contracted to Leverkusen until 2019 but has had injury problems throughout his career.

CHANCES: 2/5

 

GONZALO HIGUAIN

Napoli

Cost: £37m

The Argentina international wants to leave Napoli but the club is reluctant to sell without getting their money back.

He is 27 and carrying a little extra weight which has concerned some observers including scouts at United.

Gonzalo Higuain wants to leave Napoli but the club is reluctant to sell without getting their money back

Juventus have expressed an interest in recent weeks while Arsenal and Chelsea have monitored his progress. Jose Mourinho is a fan from his time at Real Madrid. United want two strikers but have yet to bid for Higuain despite reports in Italy.

CHANCES: 3/5

 

BASTIAN SCHWEINSTEIGER

Bayern Munich

Cost: £8m

United have earmarked Schweinsteiger as one of their options for midfield where they are also considering Southampton's Morgan Schneiderlin.

Schweinsteiger is on big wages and turns 31 years old on August 1.

United have earmarked Bayern Munich's Bastian Schweinsteiger as one of their options for midfield

Economically it may not seem the best signing but Louis van Gaal wants someone to share the burden with Michael Carrick of pulling the strings and recognises the experience, calm and technique that the Germany international can bring to his squad.

CHANCES: 2/5

 

KEVIN DE BRUYNE

Wolfsburg

Cost: £45m

One of the outstanding performers in Europe this season, former Chelsea midfielder De Bruyne has just been named the best player in the Bundesliga.

City sporting director Txiki Begiristain has spoken to his agent Patrick De Koster and is keen to make a deal happen, his club want him to sign a new contract while Bayern Munich, PSG and Juventus have also expressed interest.

Former Chelsea midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has attracted interest from City with his Bundesliga displays

De Koster said: 'I will have informal talks with Wolfsburg this week so we will have to wait and see.'

CHANCES: 3/5

 

DOUGLAS COSTA

Shakhtar Donetsk

Cost: £24m

The Brazilian has made his love of Chelsea and Mourinho clear and very nearly made that move happen in January.

Instead Chelsea pushed ahead with a deal for Juan Cuadrado from Fiorentina, one that has not been successful. Indeed, Inter Milan are trying to take Cuadrado on loan with view to a permanent deal and that could pave the way for Costa's arrival.

Brazilian forward Douglas Costa could be joining international team-mate Filipe Luis at Chelsea

Liverpool and Arsenal have also shown a keen interest in the attacking midfielder who has a Portuguese passport.

CHANCES: 4/5

 

KARIM BENZEMA

Real Madrid

Cost: £35m

A striker all the Premier League would want and one who could be struggling to make the starting line up at Real Madrid next season.

Rafa Benitez is considering playing Cristiano Ronaldo as his centre forward and Benzema may start on the bench.

Karim Benzema could be struggling to make the starting line up at Real Madrid next season

His agent Karim Djaziri is undeterred however. 'I haven't met with any club in London,' he said. 'Not with United and not with anyone else. Benzema would only leave if Real Madrid told him he was surplus to requirements, because he isn't going to leave of his own accord.'

CHANCES: 1/5

 

Here's a few that should arrive in England this summer:

YOHAN CABAYE (PSG) £10m

The stylish midfielder has been pushed out by PSG's all-star cast so is looking for a return to the Premier League and Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew is keen to sign him

Yohan Cabaye has been pushed out by PSG's all-star cast so is looking for a return to the Premier League

 

ANTHONY MARTIAL (Monaco) £18.5m

Raw but exciting French forward who has shone in the Champions League. The teenager is a big favourite with Tottenham who will push for a deal in the coming weeks.

Anthony Martial (right) is a big favourite with Tottenham who will push for a deal in the coming weeks

 

CEDRIC SOARES (Sporting Lisbon) £3.5m

Attacking Portugal international right back has been watched by Arsenal, Barcelona, Wolfsburg and Schalke but is the subject of a £3.5m bid from ambitious Stoke City.

Cedric Soares (left) has been watched by Arsenal, Barcelona, Wolfsburg and Schalke, plus Stoke City

 

CRISTIAN BENAVENTE (Real Madrid) £4m

The 'Peruvian Ronaldinho' has been starring under Zinedine Zidane's tutelage for Castilla but is now in talks over a move to West Bromwich Albion where Tony Pulis will make him his playmaker.

Cristian Benavente has starred under Zinedine Zidane's tutelage for Castilla and is wanted by West Brom

 

PEDRO OBIANG (Sampdoria) £4.4m

Tough and technically good central midfielder brought up in Atletico Madrid's academy prior to moving to Italy and now the 23-year-old is heading to West Ham United.

Tough and technically good central midfielder Pedro Obiang is heading to West Ham United this summer

 

SHINJI OKAZAKI (Mainz) £9m

Japan international striker has been a target for Leicester City since December and the 29-year-old looks increasingly likely to move to the Midlands after the club offered £8m.

Shinji Okazaki (left) has been a target for Leicester City since December and looks likely to move for £8m

 

FRANCK TABANOU (St Etienne) £3.5m

The French left back almost joined Swansea City in January but is pushing for the deal to be done now and all parties are inching towards an agreement for the 26-year-old.

Franck Tabanou (left) almost joined Swansea City in January but is pushing for the deal to be done now

Rare red McLaren F1 sports car expected to fetch over $12million at auction

• Only 63 McLaren F1s were made by the English car company between 1992 and 1998 
• The model currently for sale will go up for auction in August in Monterrey, California 

When a McLaren F1 sports car comes up for sale, it's a special occasion. 

That's because only 63 of its kind were produced, and the lucky few who have had both the cash and opportunity to buy one don't often let them go.

On Wednesday, prospective buyers gathered at an auction preview in New York to see one McLaren F1 in person, ahead of an August auction in Monterrey, California. 

Experts say the F1, dubbed the fastest production car ever built, will likely fetch at least $12million at the auction, which is being organized by RM Auctions and Sotheby's.

Unique: A rare McLaren F1 sports car is set to go up for auction in August. On Wednesday, car connoisseurs and collectors gathered in New York to view the model, of which only 63 were produced 

Vroom vroom: The McLaren F1 was produced by the English car company between 1992 and 1998. The version set to go for auction is designed for regular road use 

Center front: The McLaren has an unusual seating design, with the driver in the center of the vehicle and two passengers seats to the left and right

Top bidder: Experts believe this McLaren F1 will fetch at least $12million when it goes up for auction in Monterrey, California in August 

Record setter: The McLaren F1 earned the title of the world's fastest production car in 1998, when it recorded a top speed of 240mph 

English car company McClaren produced the McLaren F1 between 1992 and 1998. The model currently for sale is the F1, the model designed for everyday road use. But McLaren also built another 43 cars in varying models, including the LM (tuned versions), GT (longtail roadcars), XP (prototypes), GTR (racecars), and XP LM (LM prototype).

At the time, one of these cars took about three and a half months to make.

When it was released, British car magazine Autocar heralded the F1 as 'the finest driving machine yet built for the public road' and said that it 'may possibly be the fastest production road car the world will ever see.' 

The F1 lived up to those expectations in 1998, when it set the record for world's fastest production car, reaching a speed of 240 mph with its 680 horse power 12-cylinder engine. 

Beautiful: Photographers and videographers hover around to capture the rare and expensive sports car on Wednesday 

Like a bird: The McLaren F1 is a gullwing car, meaning it's doors swing up when they open like the wings of a bird 

Extra-special care: When McLaren was producing the car, it would take about three and a half months to make 

Success: When it was released, British car magazine Autocar heralded the F1 as 'the finest driving machine yet built for the public road' and said that it 'may possibly be the fastest production road car the world will ever see.'

Among the rich and famous owners of McLaren F1s are retired late-night talk show host Jay Leno, fashion designer Ralph Lauren, Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason and the Sultan of Brunei.

Actor Rowan Atkinson was once a proud owner of a McLaren F1 but decided to sell his purple model in January, listing with Taylor &Crawley for $12million. 

Before that, another McLaren F1 was sold for $8.47million at auction in August 2013.  

Twenty two other expensive models will go for sale in the August auction, including models from Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Jaguar and Bugatti.  

Former Tonight Show host Jay Leno (left) and Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason (right) are two of the few McLaren F1 owners

Incredible Washington treehouse

• Foster Huntington built the Cinder Cone Treehouse in Skamania County on the Columbia River Gorge
• Recruited a small group of friends, including his carpenter mother, to help build from summer through winter 2014 
• Made up of two 200 sq ft structures - one is a guesthouse/studio and the other is Huntington's living space
• Huntington decided he needed a home base after living in a van the last three years to surf, camp and photograph

Three years after quitting his job in New York to move into a van and surf and camp around the West Coast, one popular blogger and photographer decided he was ready for a home base.

But not just any apartment or condo would do for Foster Huntington. Instead he decided to build an incredible treehouse, complete with a bonafide skatepark and a wood-burning hot tub, in Skamania County, Washington.

Huntington began drawing the plans for the Cinder Cone Treehouse last spring of 2014, breaking ground on property that's been in his family for 20 years in the Columbia River Gorge. 

Scroll down for video 

This is the incredible treehouse Foster Huntington and a group of close friends built on the Columbia River Gorge on Skamania County, Washington - complete with a bonafide skatepark and a wood-burning hot tub

Huntington began drawing the plans for the Cinder Cone Treehouse last spring of 2014, breaking ground on property that's been in his family for 20 years, picking the perfect spot between two douglas fir trees on a hill with the best view 

Hungtington's team work on the skate bowl one early morning. Huntington said many of his friends, some with professional carpentry experience and others who 'learned on the go', stopped by to work and stay on the property as it was built in 2014 

With the help of a small group of close friends, as well as his carpenter mother, Huntington began building in June and worked through the winter.

'Friends old and new stopped by to work and stay on the property,' he wrote on his Kickstarter. 'Some of us worked as carpenters professionally, others learned on the go.' 

Huntington said a treehouse was a 'good evolution' after he spent years enjoying life in the small space of his camper, he toldMpora. 

The perfect spot was between a row of Douglas fir trees, situated on a hill that Huntington said had the best view, for the project that he estimated cost around $170,000. 

Huntington decided he needed a home base after spending the last three years living in his van to camp and surf through the West Coast

Pictured was the team's first night sleeping up in the trees, six weeks into the treehouse's building stage that began in June 2014

The treehouse is actually made up of two 200 sq ft structures that are connected by a 25ft bridge

'I feel like it's important to live in a place that's really inspiring to live and in this day and age of the internet you can kind of work from wherever,' he said. 

The treehouse is made up of two 200 sq ft structures, connected by a 25ft bridge, Huntington told Outside Magazine. 

One acts as a workshop and guesthouse while the other, an octagonal cabin with bunk beds, is Huntington's living space

And have no fear, Huntington said he still has Wi-Fi and 4G internet - even up in the trees.

'That’s all I need to make a living,' he told Mpora. 'So I could be here or I could be in Manhattan and it’s way cheaper to do what I’m doing here.' 

One acts as a workshop and guesthouse, while the other, an octagonal cabin with bunk beds, is Huntington's living space

 Pictured are Huntington's friends inspecting the arched bridge, dubbed the double rainbow, that would connect the two structures

'I feel like it's important to live in a place that's really inspiring to live', Huntington said. 'And in this day and age of the internet you can kind of work from wherever' 

Huntington found his way to New York City after graduation, catching the eye of a big design firm thanks to a blog he created while bored in college that was called A Restless Transplant.

He soon realized he wasn't satisfied being 'inside an office building working 70 hours a week in my early twenties' for a corporation, he told Vice. 

That's when he created another photo blog, dubbed The Burning House. It would be his ticket to life on the road after publisher HarperCollins gave him a book advance, which he used to buy a Volkswagen van. 

'Moving into a van, I only had space for the stuff that I needed, for the s*** that I really wanted to do,' Huntington said.

Huntington said he wanted his new home to be a place where his friends would want to come and hang out and work on their own projects

Huntington's best friend, carpenter Tucker Gorman, works on the studio's platform early on in the treehouse's building stage 

'Treehouses are the same. This is small, like 200 square feet. So it forces you to be a lot more specific about the stuff you have.' 

Huntington documented the building of the Cinder Cone Treehouse for a Vimeo video and is now raising money on Kickstarter for a book detailing how he and his friends pulled it off. 

'My goal is to make something that shows the process from dreaming up a seemingly outlandish idea to the final result after thousands of hours of hard work and the moments that happened in between,' he writes on the fundraising site. 

'I hope that the result ignites the imagination of people’s inner kid, and gets ideas going for their own projects.'

Huntington is now raising money on Kickstarter for a book that that details how he and his friends pulled off his dream

'I hope that the result ignites the imagination of people’s inner kid,' he said, 'And gets ideas going for their own projects'

Billionaire's son buys his DOG two Apple Watches

 

• Billionaire's son Wang Sicong has bought two Apple Watches for his husky
• Sicong's other presents to his pampered pooch include a £700 Fendi purse
• His father is the richest man in China with a £25billion fortune 
• Son owns a £50 million private equity firm focusing on computer gaming
  
  

As China's richest man worth £25billion, Wang Jianlin is known for his astonishing spending power - and now his son is earning a reputation for his wacky way of spending too. 

Wang Sicong, the only son to the tycoon, dotes on his dog so much that he's bought not one, but two £800 Apple Watches for her, according to People's Daily Online.

The pampered pooch, called Wang Keke, wears them on her front legs - posing for a series of pictures on Weibo, China's answer to Twitter.

Lucky dog: Son of China's richest man dotes on his dog so much that he's bought two Apple Watches for her

Cute: These pictures of Wang Keke wearing her Apple Watches sparked debate on China's social media

Extravagant: In a follow-up post, Sicong shows the watch being used to test Keke's heart rate

The set of four pictures were posted from the dog's very own social media account, which has nearly 700,000 followers and is ironically named 'Wang Keke is a b*tch', on Monday morning.

Along with the pictures, a post reads: 'Haha I have new watches! I should actually be wearing four, seeing as I have four legs, but felt it was a bit much so I just put on two, but I cannot wear any less than two otherwise it will not be befitting my status.

'Suddenly I want to ask you all a question "Do any of you have these" A follow-up post was uploaded in the evening showing Sicong using the watch to test Keke's heart rate alongside the words: 'Measuring heart beat showing 59 bpm. This means I have missed you another 59 times in this minute'.

In a country with a fast widening wealth gap, these pictures quickly caused outcry. Apple Watch sells between £820 and £1,300 in China, which is more than the monthly salary of an average office worker in big cities.

Many Chinese media outlets call Sicong 'rich and immature' in the headlines. Weibo users took one step further and bombarded Keke's account – on which Sicong wrote the tag line 'a dog winning in incarnation' - with criticism.

'I should live worse than a dog,' says user Guozaishilifei.

'F*ck, Apple b*tch,' wrote user Guojingmin's watch.

Rich child: Sicong is the only son of Wang Jianlin, a tycoon with £25billion fortune, and wife Lin Ning

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Influential: He's made a name for himself for being flamboyant on social media since he returned to China after graduating from the University College London

Sicong, who has almost 13million followers on Weibo, originally re-tweeted these pictures on his personal account but the post mysteriously disappeared on Tuesday morning.

But for anyone who's familiar with Sicong's lifestyle, this wouldn't come as a shock.

As the only child to Wang Jianlin - China's number one tycoon who has two private jets, a James Bond speedboat firm and his own football club - and his wife Lin Ning, the Dalian-native is never afraid of flaunting his fortune under spotlight.

In January, he hired an entire resort in Sanya, the Florida of China, to celebrate his 27th birthday and paid T-ara, one of his favourite girl bands from Korea, to stage a private concert for him and his guests.

He's also been reported to shell out more than £1m to support AKB48, a Japanese girl band he loved - something he later denied - and take pictures with them in racy uniforms.

As expensive as they get, the two Apple Watches are not the only presents his husky Wang Keke has received this month.

People's Daily Online reported that earlier this month, the pet was given a pink Fendi handbag by his owner. A post on Keke's Weibo account shows her posing with a tiny pink purse around her neck on May 4.

Party time: Wang Sicong celebrated his 27th birthday in January at a resort in Sanya. Many celebrities were invited to his party and Korean girls band, T-ara, staged a private concert for him

Fan of pop music: Sicong is pictured with AKB48, a Japanese girl band he likes

Born in 1988 in Dalian, a city of six million on the east coast of China where his father made his fortune in real estate in 1990s, Sicong is what the Chinese call a typical 'rich second-generation'.

Having spent most of his earlier years studying overseas, he first finished primary school in Singapore before moving to the UK to attend Winchester College and the University College London, majoring in philosophy.

When asked why he chose to study philosophy, he said to Chinese media: 'If I had to choose something to waste three years on, I'd rather spend the time on something that I would really enjoy.' 

It wasn't until 2011, not long after he returned to China and received £10m shares of stock from his father's Wanda cinema line, that Wang started to make a name for himself as a flamboyant rich kid on China's social media.

And it certainly helped when his father gave him £50m to start his own private equity firm called Pusi Capital, focussing on his beloved computer gaming industry.

Once upon a time: Picture shows Sicong (middle) with his cousins when he was young

Growth under limelight: Born to a father with £25b fortune, Sicong is what the Chinese call a typical 'rich second-generation'

A quick look on this Weibo profile page reveals a series of bizarre self-descriptions: He dubs himself 'the husband of all citizens', considers himself 'widowed' (although all media coverage suggested he's never been married) and refers to himself as bisexual.

Many of his Weibo posts centre around showbiz, and almost all of them get more than 20,000 comments.

'Money is my biggest advantage,' as Sicong has been quoted by multiple Chinese publications.

And perhaps nothing says it more than his own definition of a 'rich kid'.

'Some parents are rich and can guarantee their children food and clothes, this is not a rich kid; but if you can get money from parents and use them to change other people's lives, that's what I call a rich second-generation.'