Ignore the blah, blah, blah - the Paul Pogba thread

Exactly. I think that, in a way, Pogba's replacement is already at the club. For sure, Pogba is a world leading talent. I think we absolutely want to keep him and will try very hard, but for once we did the right thing in recruiting. Hannibal is the heir to the throne and he may not be ready, but he has the right profile and should slot right in.

 

Souness represents a bygone era. By the time he became a manager, he looked completely out of touch with the game. That was 30 years ago! I can't fault him for giving strong opinions, biased as they are, because his job is to fuel football coverage for the week. That's just noise Pogba and the rest of us have to deal with one way or the other.

Pogba's a great talent, but he's bound to divide opinions about whether he's a great player and a key figure for United. He has to prove that more like he did against Leeds. He does that, he will get a lot of that flack off his back, no question about it. It's going to take more than this one performance against Leeds to do that. It doesn't mean he needs to make 4 assists every game, but he has to play to the standards expected of him and his contract demands.

Beckham and Best left United at their peaks under the kind of circumstances Pogba might. It served neither United nor them well in the end when they had. I imagine the same will be said of Pogba and United should he leave next summer even if Hannibal or Camavinga is heir to his throne.

 

I refer you to the match day thread where there's an incredible amount of pages spend debate in weather it was Pogba's duty to mark the right back or not. There's flak he is getting from his own teams man so it will never end

 

Lol

 

It's very difficult for these kind of players in the modern game to be afforded the freedom they need. That debate about Ayling's goal really comes down to that. Grealish got that criticism too for England. When Southgate subbed him on and then off against Denmark during the Euro semi, the logic was because he couldn't press and man-mark to help maintain the lead.

I'm not going to speak to the hate Pogba gets from a vocal and largely irrelevant group of people, but I can understand why some sections of fans remain critical. For one, he hasn't delivered like Bruno has. I think many rightly feel he has more to achieve with the club and has yet to play to his full potential, some are simply more critical of him on this point on a persona level while others think more pieces of the puzzle need to be there for it to happen for him. Also Pogba has been on the fence about remaining at the club. It's hard for him to win people over when the impression is he is uncommitted, but I don't really fault him for that. He'd be a fool to sign his contract now and that's just part of the modern realities of the game, something the likes of Souness may disagree with, but I think if Souness were in the same position, he'd be a fool not to do the same.

 

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Hard not to agree with what was said here, for the most part.

 

Pogs on Tchouameni.

Paul Pogba on Aurélien Tchouaméni:

"He's not a boy, he's a man. It's a pleasure to play next to him, he provides a lot...plenty of energy, technical quality and extraordinary physicality. I hope to play plenty of games together and always be on his side." [@BaptisteDurieux] pic.twitter.com/saYIzogbtU

— Zach Lowy (@ZachLowy) September 5, 2021

One who's high on my list of holding mid candidates. Imagine that his price will rise this season but still being in Ligue Un, probably will still be very affordable next summer.
As high praise you can get from someone like Pogba.

 

Agent P at work once again? It might not be out of bounds to believe that signing him could go some way towards convincing him to put pen to paper on a new contract with United (provided he hasn't done so already yet).
Kind of hard to think he wouldn't do so, with the team we could be looking at then. Not sure whether that is a Jan deal or not but Arnold (or whoever will replace Woodward), get to work (if not in Jan, next summer then)...

 

Cmon Pogs sign the contract, if Varane Ronaldo Sancho cant convince you, nothing will.

 

The lack of a decent holding mid, which effectively means he only can efficiently play wide left (where there is a serious logjam as it is), absolutely can.
Really not hard to discern, when you think about it, that those comments about Tchouameni (and what he can do, especially for him), are not innocent (consciously or not).
With the rumors that we're still in for Rice, who would be a fine target for the role, Tchouameni just makes more sense considering he'd cost around half the price and we know there are other needs on the table still...
Bottom line though, it's pretty clear that Pogs has nothing to gain by rushing into anything at this point. If him not signing keeps United under pressure with their need to deliver more (as they should), it's really not the worst thing imo.

 

Probably north of 400K per week. Honestly, it makes sense to part ways. Let him do his thing elsewhere, spend that money on an entire pivot upgrade and maybe a manager while we are at it.

 

In the match against Finland, Paul Pogba won the ball back 17 times 💪🏾

The last player to win more possession in a game for France was...Pogba himself in 2014 and it was 18 times against Spain 🔥🤯 [Opta] pic.twitter.com/i3gmQOOKsC

— FIVE (@FIVEUK) September 8, 2021

France played in a 3-4-3/3-4-1-2 yesterday, with Pogs and Rabiot as the midfield duo. Pogs as the deeper of the 2 put in another very good display, with his passing (among other things) absolutely on point.
So good and incredibly versatile.

 

He did that against Finland. Do that against an opposition that keeps the ball better and you have to defend in your final third, then we can talk about it.

The thing is he has it in him he does, he has the reading and the intelligence but not the will.

 

Yes good point on the one of the CB's being a 6ish.

 

Another good spell for Pogba with France. And he clearly brought that excellent form of his back to Manchester. Was a bright spot today vs Newcastle.

See you soon, @equipedefrance ! 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/FJWVByobTw

— Paul Pogba (@paulpogba) September 10, 2021

Doubt the veracity of the sources it came from but it's being reported that Pogba is pushing behind the scenes for United to make a play for Tchouameni.
Having said that, true or not and based on his recent comments alone, it's really not hard to imagine he's a guy he'd want to play with as much as possible (and that includes of course at club level).
More importantly though, if there was any truth to this claim, United would be fools not to try at least to get this deal done. May understand the club making their own decisions on who to sign but this just makes sense from pretty much all points of view: he's exactly what we need in midfield.
And the bottom line is that Pogs has leverage right now and if signing Tchouameni helps in getting Pogs to commit to United, then it's a win all the way around

 

Keane/Souness conniption fit incoming...

Paul Pogba turning up at Parklife after the game 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/0tNJBaA4op

— Project Football EPL (@ProjectEPL) September 11, 2021

 

Ornstein confirming this news as well...

🚨 Exclusive: Paul Pogba leaning towards signing new Manchester United contract. Saturday had major impact on 28yo’s thinking over future. Many factors to consider but now a genuine chance that once talks resume an extension may follow @TheAthleticUK #MUFC https://t.co/KlK4HsrZtm

— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) September 13, 2021

 

With Ronaldo reportedly at 500 and Dave at 350 or so, I guess it would stand to reason that a figure of 400-425k/wk should do it for Pogba. Nice pay hike considering he's around 290k/wk now or thereabouts..
Imagine that Raiola will make sure to have plenty of big bonuses included: for competition wins (the bigger the trophy, the larger the bonus). Probably some other, smaller bonuses for individual goals met as well?

Edit: This is also why in my estimation, as things currently stand, it simply does not make sense to sign Lingard to a new contract. Love the guy but he'll be 29 soon and he'll surely be looking for a raise as well. Does not make sense practically for someone who is a bit part player.
It's often spoken about how we can't jeopardize the club's wage structure: that is precisely an example where the club should draw the line. Not on top/important players for us, like Pogs, Bruno and Shaw who are all on the docket for renewal/extension at the moment.