Pogba at the crossroads in United career
IT’S approaching crunch time in the union of United and Paul Pogba. Soon we will know whether this marriage of convenience is heading for divorce, or if both parties are willing to give it one more go, to turn what should have been a happy and fruitful relationship into just that.
When Pogba returned to Old Trafford for £89m in the summer of 2016 so much was expected.
There have been highs, but this is a relationship that hasn’t really worked.
Had Pogba and his agent Mino Raiola got their way last summer there would have already been a separation, Pogba would be back in Turin or in Madrid and his legacy at United would be swiftly forgotten.
Nothing that has happened this season has changed that legacy.
If the Reds were hoping for one final swansong from Pogba, it’s instead turned into a lost season for the World Cup winner, beset by injury problems and playing just 71 minutes since the end of September.
For much of this year it’s been expected that the severing of ties would come this summer, but now that’s looking increasingly unlikely. The picture had already begun to change around Pogba, but now the coronavirus pandemic that has had a drastic economic knock-on effect on football has left the transfer window an uncertain proposition.
Clubs on the continent are particularly struggling, with
Juventus and Barcelona asking players to defer wages and take a pay cut respectively. While Real are yet to follow suit, their financial position is only marginally stronger. It’s difficult to see how any of those clubs could now justify an outlay of more than £100m on a single player, especially one who may have questions to answer over his fitness. That may leave Pogba stuck in Manchester once more, but how he goes about this summer will give United their answer as to how much to persevere with the 27-year-old. If he knuckles down and enters talks of a new contract, which currently expires in 2021 with the option of a further year, then it will show the signs that he could yet see a long-term future at Old Trafford. But if Raiola threatens to cause trouble again and Pogba or his agent agitate for a move away, then United will surely know it’s the end of the road. Take the option on his contract and look to do the best deal possible for the club when the market recovers. The answer to how Pogba responds isn’t as clear cut as it may have seemed for most of this season. Before the football shutdown the Reds were on an impressive 11-game unbeaten run, in with a chance of a top-four finish and still in the Europa League and
If the Reds were hoping for one final swansong from Pogba, it’s turned into a lost season
the FA Cup. It was beginning to look like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side had considerable momentum behind them, fuelled by the manager’s excellent hit-rate in the transfer market.
The £47m addition of Bruno Fernandes in January had instantly improved United and given credence to the enticing possibility of seeing Fernandes and Pogba in midfield.
If Pogba wanted A-list signings and on-pitch improvements to see for himself that United were heading in the right direction, he now has both. Whether that is enough to convince him he can see a longterm future of his own at Old Trafford remains to be seen.