Why Manchester United must offload Paul Pogba this summer?
Manchester United have had quite a few problems ever since Sir Alex Ferguson announced his retirement but the latest one that’s plaguing them is the whole situation with their prodigal son Paul Pogba.
The flamboyant Frenchman is a graduate of United’s prestigious academy but he departed the club a few years back and went out and made quite a name for himself. While he was at Juventus, he caught the club’s eye once more and he returned to Old Trafford in spectacular fashion for then world-record £89 million price tag – which is definitely not cheap by any measure.
It might sound like a crazy thing to suggest but when a club – or anybody, really – pay such a hefty amount, they expect positive results in exchange. And barring an occasion or two, Pogba has rarely ever lived up to his billing and it has now come to a stage where people are debating as to whether he should stay with the club or just move on. There is absolutely no doubt that he is insanely skilled and gifted as a footballer but there is a stark contrast between what he is capable of and what he is actually doing for the Red Devils.
Fortunately enough, United are in a decent place right now but more often than not, the club have been criticised for putting up unnecessarily defensive displays. The blame for that cannot be dumped entirely on Pogba though – it has to do more with Jose Mourinho and his tactics and all that (which can probably be a different topic for a different day). However, one cannot deny that Pogba has not had a hand in some of the terrible performances United have put up this season.
Yes, they are in still in the reckoning for a Champions League spot and are poised to finish the season on a strong note. But these internal problems concerning players have eaten up all their chances of posing a strong title challenge this season. One might argue that it is just a one-season thing and that they will be a lot more composed next time around. But United fans will agree that this is something they have been repeating every single season and it is high time that somebody is held accountable.
The mark of a good footballer is his professionalism and dedication. Unfortunately for the Red Devils, Pogba has shown neither. In fact, his many failures at the club have just given way to a load of excuses which, honestly, just seem like a big cover-up to hide the fact that the Frenchman is not the right choice for United.
As an attacker, he was regarded as one of the best (I use ‘was’ because let’s be honest, we have not seen much of his attacking skills at United) but ask him to drop a bit deeper to play alongside Nemanja Matic at a time when Ander Herrera was injured and – BOOM – Pogba plays in a haphazard manner which is cringeworthy, to say the least.
For a long time, it has been mentioned that Pogba is not all that strong at defensive duties and that is understandable. But to make a slip-up as huge as the one he made against Tottenham Hotspur was simply abominable. Spurs obviously exploited and scored the first goal within seconds. If Pogba cannot adjust for one single night and play with Matic in a deeper role to fill in for an injured teammate, then perhaps, United must just move on.
We are living at a time when outstanding football talents can be found at every nook and cranny across the world and it becomes unjustifiable to continue keeping a player like Pogba, who has failed on so many levels. It just seems to be a tirade of excuse after excuse whenever his inefficiency is brought up.
Earlier, it was said that Matic was purchased from Chelsea to play the deeper role so that Pogba would have greater power up front. Fair enough, Matic has done a brilliant job ever since he arrived at Old Trafford but the Frenchman – even in a preferred attacking role – could not do much to impress, besides just the bare minimum.
Now, once more, United are in the not-so-unfamiliar rut of scanning the market to sign a new midfielder in the summer. Why? To help Pogba with greater freedom and flexibility up front.
These excuses have gotten ridiculous to a point where it seems like the best option for United would be to just let Pogba leave. How many more players should Mourinho purchase just to “bring the best out of Pogba”? As a professional, he needs to be adaptable to any and every situation and that is something we have just not seen from him in a long, long time. If United are to harbour any serious hopes of winning the title anytime soon, they need reliable assets and at present, Pogba is nothing but a liability.
Hence, it is time for Red Devils to quit making excuses to cover up for Pogba’s poor performances and to just cut the cord and let him leave this summer. They need players who are genuinely in the team to win and not somebody who can merely boost their T-shirt sales.