There you have it, after weeks of speculation Paul Pogba has publicly declared of his desire to seek a new challenge away from his so-called ‘beloved’ Manchester United – words he used upon his return from Juventus. After such a torrid end to the season in which correlated with United’s poor form. The French superstar now feels he’ll be more valued elsewhere and rightly so, after receiving horrid abuse from his own supporters in United’s season finale defeat to Cardiff at Old Trafford. Whether that is a major factor for his decision remains to be seen, but it seems as though Pogba has been hell-bent on this solution for a long while.
To put things into context, Pogba has endured a topsy-turvy season himself. Much was made of his place and role in the team once the season started under Mourinho and a mountain of questions were asked as to how the ‘Special One’ could successfully get the best out of him in a team that relatively felt unbalanced. Mourinho knew that. Before the season even started which was the reason for his snide, pessimistic and downbeat press conferences. The Portuguese wasn’t backed as he hoped he would and it gradually took its toll on the players and most significantly partly led to the training ground rift between Paul Pogba and the ‘Special One’, the result of a jokey social media post placed online by Pogba apparently after the Carabao Cup third round penalty shoot-out defeat to Frank Lampard’s Derby County. After clarification from his staff that the video was posted during the game rather than after, Mourinho still took it upon himself to create an argument with the French superstar. Whether that was the final straw for Pogba, ultimately leading to his decision now, remains to be interpreted.
In all honesty, the first half of the season was disastrous and that was further reflected in the defeat to Liverpool in December, a game that saw Paul Pogba dropped after also being stripped off the captaincy. Ultimately, it was the final straw for Jose Mourinho who was sacked following the defeat – much to the apparent amusement of many of United’s key players especially Paul Pogba who was rumoured to be the key factor in Mourinho’s downfall. Either sack the manager or get rid of Paul Pogba. Woodward went with the former and it was a small victory for Pogba and co.
Let’s be honest here, Mourinho had to go, his negative demeanour and careless body language was not doing the club any good from a image perspective, it was like a dark cloud was hovering over the club. That cloud was immediately lifted after the appointment of United legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his instalment as United’s interim boss led to an unstoppable upturn in form for both the club and Paul Pogba, embarking on a sixteen game unbeaten run. United were imperious, Paul Pogba was at his dominant and fluent best, probably the best his shown throughout his three years at Old Trafford. He finished the season with 16 goals and 9 assists from midfield – his best ever season to date, but still it was a season Pogba still left a lot to be desired. As soon as Solskjaer was made permanent coach, the whole team dropped, the form dropped, and as captain it was Pogba’s job to keep his team-mates motivated until the end.
Now that Pogba has declared his desire to leave, where does that leave Manchester United? What happens next? Will Pogba still be a United player come August? Who will he join providing he leaves? Who can replace the French World Cup winner? These are questions which will require answers in the coming weeks of the summer. There is no doubt about it, Pogba will be a huge miss for Solskjaer, such is the need for United to demand an astronomical fee of around £150million if United are to sell. It is reported that Pogba would prefer to head back to Turin with Juventus despite the strong interest from Real Madrid. What will be closely watched this summer is how United plan to replace him, or is there a really a plan? Much has been made of the need for United appoint an astute Director of football, something that has been talked about for since last year. United no longer hold the pulling power they once had, and that is down to the man upstairs Ed Woodward.
What United have as a CEO, is not a footballing man, but a business one. Whereas the likes of Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Liverpool have those in charge making decisions based on their footballing knowledge. United’s Woodward is basing his own on his business acumen. The signings of Radamel Falcao, Angel Di Maria, Paul Pogba, Alexis Sanchez, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Romelu Lukaku, only two of which have some sort of success during their spells at the club: Ibrahimovic and arguably, Paul Pogba. These are signings with the tag ‘square pegs with round holes’ kind of deals. Signings based on shirt sales, and the merchandise rather than signing players who can fit into a system or philosophy. It’s been the hallmark of much of United’s deals since the days of Alex Ferguson and David Gill. These decisions are hurting the whole structure and reputation of the club, and the fact that United will be playing Europa League football next season doesn’t help their cause in the slightest. You can almost forgive Pogba for wanting to leave, and he no longer sees a fulfilled future at a club that is no longer holding the desire to continue being the country’s number one club. That tag is now being held at our cross city rivals. Jealous much? Certainly.
As a United fan, I am incredibly frustrated at the nature of the transfer that has been haunting our club for the last three years. No thought process, no structure, no plan and no philosophy. You could see why we have underachieved for so long. Paul Pogba was supposed to drive United to a new era when he arrived in 2016. So far, he’s looked nowhere near the consistent and dominant player I thought he would be. Changing games instantly, grabbing a game by the scruff of the neck. Apart from the start of this calendar year which saw United go through that impeccable run, Pogba has largely been disappointing, only impressing in spurts rather than the consistent and week-in, week-out performances we’ve been long been expecting.
However, its not always on him. The team around him is poor, not up to the quality he wants and not up to the standards that he so regularly enjoys playing with when of international duty with France. As stated previously, the team is unbalanced and its not built to complement Pogba’s style of play. Look at the game against Manchester City at Old Trafford for example, the Frenchman was so frustrated with the fact that he had to drop back to pick up the ball rather than receiving it in dangerous pockets of space. United lack that kind of defensive midfielder or a centre-back capable of breaking the lines with a slide-rule pass. The one player capable of doing that is Lindelof, though he can’t do it on his own. United’s first rule of thought this summer is to sign a centre-back who can instantly come in and improve such a shaky back-line – like Van Dijk has so remarkably done at Anfield.
Kalidou Koulibaly, Toby Alderweireld, Matthijis de Ligt, Harry Maguire or even Inter Milan’s Milan Skriniar. These are the sort of centre-backs United should be breaking their backs to sign. These are the sort of calibre defenders that would instantly improve and sharpen United’s back-line, not only that but would become the backbone of what Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is so desperate to implement into his own philosophy at United.
Whether Ed Woodward will be able to get these kind of deals over the line remains to be seen. Since the end of last season, United have been linked with every name under the sun but none of that means anything if Woodward is to continue his stubborn ways in the transfer market. For example, the potential deal to bring Aaron Wan-Bissaka in from Crystal Palace has dragged on for too long now to the point where fans are even questioning whether Palace’s star man last season is even worthy to solve United’s full-back frailties. Palace want a reported £50million, and the United CEO has bid £35million and the rest with add-ons. Farcical.
Wan-Bissaka on last seasons evidence – a quality right-back in his own right – is an investment for the future and £50million for his kind of quality could be a bargain. A further reflection of the lack of pulling power they so used to enjoy.
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