Serie A giants Juventus are rumoured to be keen on bringing back Manchester United’s Paul Pogba to Turin and have spoken to the Frenchman’s agent about a possible move, as per Sky Italy. Pogba, who came through the ranks at Manchester United, signed for Juventus on a free transfer in 2012 after refusing to sign a new contract with the Red Devils. The Frenchman became a world beater at the Italian club, helping Juventus win four Serie A titles in his four years at the club, scoring 34 goals in 178 appearances.
But he returned to Manchester United in 2016 for a world-record transfer fee of £89.3 million, in a move which was approved by the then United manager Jose Mourinho. Pogba’s return to Old Trafford has not been very successful as he has not helped the Red Devils move back to the top of the Premier League, despite his stats being quite impressive.
The French midfielder had a resurgence of sorts after the appointment of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as United’s manager after falling out of favour with the previous manager Jose Mourinho. But his performances tailed off at the end of the season as Manchester United witnessed an alarming dip in form.
Before these rumours of Pogba moving to Juventus, he was heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid, whose manager Zinedine Zidane is a big fan of his French compatriot. The 26-year-old’s contract with United expires in 2021.
Should Ole let him go and reinvest?
The Paul Pogba situation is one that will not go away anytime soon for Manchester United. He was the club’s leading goalscorer of the 2018-19 season with 16 goals – one more than striker Romelu Lukaku, who has also been linked with a move away from Old Trafford, while also making 9 assists in the league, which was the most for Manchester United.
Pogba certainly has the stats going for him, but it’s his overall influence over the team and how they play that has been a problem. The criticism levelled at Pogba is that he goes missing in difficult situations and he isn’t one that has won over the United fans with his attitude, with the public bust-up between him and former manager Jose Mourinho tarnishing both their images to an extent.
The Frenchman has also not done himself any favours by calling Real Madrid “a dream move”, sparking rumours of him looking for a move away from United. It seems that his head is turned by the interest shown by Madrid, and now perhaps, Juventus. Solskjaer seems set to build a young team rather than simply buy world-class players who might not fit in his system and hence he should let go of Pogba and invest the money from his sale on talented youngsters who can take the team forward for the next few years thus setting Manchester United on the path they are best known for.
It’s time to remove the rotten apple from the basket and start afresh at Manchester United.