Manchester United’s £89 million signing of Paul Pogba has been a resounding success, and the Frenchman is now considered one of the best midfielders in the world. However, with Real Madrid and PSG reportedly interested in signing him this summer, his future could be up in the air.
The psg vs real madrid is a win-win scenario for Man United and Pogba. Real Madrid and PSG are both targeting him at the moment, but he has a decision to make.
Paul Pogba, a midfielder for Manchester United, has set a blistering pace in the race for the 2021-22 Premier League Playmaker of the Season title (given to the player with the most assists). He has five assists in two games for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side, which is more than he had in three of his five complete seasons at Old Trafford.
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Pogba’s build-up play led to Mason Greenwood’s equalizer at St Mary’s, and Pogba nearly won the game late on with a left-footed effort that went just past of the post.
Time will tell if United earned a point or lost two as a consequence of their match against Southampton. It’s much too early to judge any team’s chances this season based on 180 minutes of football against opponents of widely varying powers, so a draw at St Mary’s might still be a good outcome for Solskjaer and his men. But what is undeniable is Pogba’s dedication and contribution, despite the uncertainty surrounding his United future, which could have easily led to the 28-year-old coasting until his estimated £300,000-a-week deal expires in June 2022.
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When the former Juventus star was one of the outstanding performers at Euro 2020 earlier this summer, cynics may have claimed he was doing so to please clubs like Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, who have both been interested in signing him for a long time. Pogba, on the other hand, has reached an age and maturity in his game that allows him to play with greater consistency and responsibility, and he has taken his international form onto the club stage with United in the early days of the current Premier League season.
Perhaps he’s enjoying the freedom that comes with knowing his fate is completely in his own hands now that his United contract is set to expire in less than a year? Pogba is in the enviable position of being able to see every possible circumstance as a win-win situation.
He has the option to run down his contract and leave United as a free agent next summer; he has the option to sign a lucrative new long-term agreement at Old Trafford before the conclusion of the season; and he has the option to depart for a new club before the transfer deadline on August 31 at 11 p.m. BST. There’s also the chance that as a free agent next year, he’ll weigh his choices and decide to remain at United by signing whatever terms are given.
Pogba is a winner no matter how he rolls the dice, so it’s no surprise that he has so much leeway at United with fellow midfield creative Bruno Fernandes. While Pogba is aware that he doesn’t have any terrible options in front of him, ESPN has learned that United is likewise unconcerned about his contract predicament. While they want Pogba to remain and are ready to speak about a new contract whenever it is convenient for him, they also recognize that he is unlikely to sign a new contract so close to the end of his current one.
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Shaka Hislop lauds Paul Pogba’s performance after the midfielder recorded four assists for Manchester United.
Pogba’s exit during this transfer window, as ESPN reported earlier this month, would free up substantial money for Solskjaer to add to his team after the signings of winger Jadon Sancho, defender Raphael Varane, and goalkeeper Tom Heaton.
Pogba’s recent form indicates he would be missed by United, but if his departure results in the acquisitions of Atletico Madrid fullback Kieran Trippier and Rennes’ 18-year-old midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, Solskjaer may find increased depth more important than Pogba’s unpredictability.
Mark Ogden, senior writer for ESPN FC, has all the latest news and reactions.
Pogba and United are scrutinizing each other in various ways. Pogba wants to win major awards fast, therefore he has to be persuaded that Solskjaer can bring them to Old Trafford. However, the United boss, as well as many others at the club, have seen Pogba shine brilliantly in the past, only to fail when it was most required.
Pogba’s ability has never been in doubt at United, but his consistency has always been a big question mark, and his incredible start to the season has put him in the position of having to prove it isn’t just another false dawn. Since coming to United in 2016, his greatest season in terms of assists was 2017-18, when he contributed 10 Premier League goals to the club, and he is almost halfway to matching that total after only two games. In his previous seasons, he has four, nine, three, and three assists, respectively.
Last season, Tottenham’s Harry Kane earned Playmaker of the Year with 14 assists, while Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne won it this season with 20 (tying Arsenal’s Thierry Henry for the league’s most assists). De Bruyne also led the rankings with 16 points in 2017-18, before Chelsea’s Eden Hazard took the lead with 15 points a year later.
Pogba has never gone close to those statistics, with De Bruyne’s 78 assists in 181 games for City compared to Pogba’s 34 in 139 for United, but he has now given himself the opportunity to break new ground and make it pay, both for himself and for United.
All that remains to be seen is whether he can maintain this form and, five years after coming at Old Trafford, eventually become the game-changing force that United and the rest of the world had hoped for.
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