Sir Alex Ferguson, although one of the greatest managers of all time, made his fair share of transfer boo-boos. Anderson, Bebe, Massimo Taibi… all three of these were pretty terrible additions, but right now it looks like one of the players he let go was the biggest error of all – Paul Pogba. The Frenchman was only a youngster at the time – and still is now – but the Scot’s reluctance to field him left the midfielder frustrated to the point that he slipped out of the Old Trafford exit door and right into the arms of Juventus.
At the time, the deal didn’t look such a big issue. Pogba was largely unproven and had some way to go to justify his tag as the ‘new Patrick Vieira’, yet he has gone the distance in Turin. With Serie A titles, a spot in Les Bleus’ senior squad and Champions League experience, the 21-year-old is now one of Europe’s best enforcers, and United are considering righting the wrongs with a £60m+ deal.
Such a fee would just about usurp the cash paid for Angel di Maria – the current British record buy – and is the sort of money many clubs can only dream of. Given United’s £150m summer spend, there are some opposed to a deal, but the Red Devils need to splash the cash for Pogba…
In terms of the major stats needed for a top class central-midfielder, Pogba simply wipes the flop with United’s current offerings. Although he’s played more minutes in league action than the likes of Michael Carrick, Daley Blind or Marouane Fellaini, the Frenchman boasts much better numbers in terms of chance creation, key passes and goals scored. Although these are ‘forward thinking’ attributes, he also takes the plaudits defensively, winning more tackles and more duels (both aerially and on the ground).
//www.youtube.com/embed/xLkjRYQjfgE
And with goals in mind, Pogba scores some absolute crackers. Midfielders are required to weigh in with the odd effort that hits the back of the net, and when the Juve man does this, he does it with swagger and style. From long-range thunderbolts, to neat finishes and headers, Pogba can do it all.
The real irony with all of this is that United need a midfielder of the starlet’s quality more than ever and they let him go. The money received was minimal by football standards, and paying over £60m for him now could look like an admission of the mistake – which is not something a giant of the game will want to confess to.
However, it’s time to put aside any reluctance and start spending that £750m adidas are set to hand over…
[ad_pod id=’ffc-video’ align=’center’]
[ad_pod id=’ricco’ align=’center’]
