Manchester United face a battle to keep Paul Pogba beyond this summer if reports coming out this morning are to be believed. The French world cup winner has been linked with spanish giants Real Madrid over the past few weeks.
The France international fueled speculations more last week when he said it will be a dream to play for the All whites. It looks he has ow made the decision to bring his Man Utd adventure to an end this season.
According to reports, the former Juventus midfielder is seriuous about the move to Real Madrid and is hoping a deal can be agreed this summer. According to Marco Ruiz of AS, the Frenchman is still keen to depart Old Trafford despite the exit of Jose Mourinho, and his agent, Mino Raiola, is already working on a transfer, with a return to Juventus also a potential option.
As Ruiz noted, Pogba, 26, was linked with Barcelona earlier this season amid tensions with Mourinho. The Portuguese manager was replaced by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer back in December, though, and Pogba has flourished under the Norwegian.
Any club wanting to prise Pogba away from United will have to be prepared to make a huge bid, as the Manchester outfit will want to make a profit on the £89 million they paid to re-sign him from Juve in 2016.
Real are one of the few clubs in the world with the financial clout to even countenance signing the midfielder, and Juve showed they will splash the cash when necessary when they signed Cristiano Ronaldo for nearly £100 million last summer. Pogba’s current contract at Old Trafford runs to 2021, so United will be able to demand a big fee if the midfielder does indeed want out.
As much as his time under Jose Mourinho wasn’t such a success, the 26-year-old has greatly improved under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and is thriving now that he has Nemanja Matic covering him behind.
While Zinedine Zidane may want him in his squad, there are doubts at Real Madrid as well as the priority is to find a replacement – possible a gradual one – for Luka Modric. There is no release clause in his contract and he could command a record fee, having previously moved for 114m euros.
There aren’t all that many comparisons for a player like him, but Barcelona have paid 75m euros – that could rise to 86m euros – for Frenkie de Jong, yet the young Dutchman is at a very different stage of his career.
If he continues with the Red Devils into next season, though, the Manchester giants will need to push to sign him up to a new deal or else risk losing him relatively cheaply.
In an ideal world, United would surely be eager to keep Pogba for the long term, because he has shown under Solskjaer he could be the club’s talisman for the best part of the next decade.
Qualifying for next season’s UEFA Champions League could become a crucial factor in Pogba staying at Old Trafford, and United are in a fierce battle for the final two top-four spots in the Premier League.