[ad_pod ]
This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…
According to ESPN, Real Madrid are “increasingly confident” that they will sign Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba this summer.
What’s the word?
Reports in recent weeks have claimed that the Frenchman could be set for an Old Trafford exit, but the rumours appeared to fade away following suggestions that United’s valuation of the midfielder had put teams off.
Now, ESPN suggest that Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has asked club president Florentino Perez to make another attempt to sign the World Cup winner.
Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below
It adds that although the Red Devils are seemingly holding out for €180m (£161.6m), there is a sense they can come to an agreement.
Too little, too late?
Every day that the Pogba transfer saga rumbles on, the worse it gets for Manchester United – not Real Madrid. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side are in a case of limbo over their maverick midfielder, so much so that despite him publicly insisting he wanted a “new challenge” this summer, he has played a prominent part in pre-season.
And who can blame the United boss? Pogba still remains a bona-fide talent, and as Solskjaer himself recently suggested, can be someone the team can be built around. But by being such a potential cornerstone of the side, United’s position on Pogba is setting them up for a mighty fall.
The transfer window deadline for Premier League clubs is on August 8, meaning United’s time to find a worthy replacement is already dwindling. Pogba simply isn’t a ‘squad player’ who can easily be discarded. The potential transfer fee involved makes it a complex deal to execute, and United will certainly be pushed for time to find someone who can fill his shoes.
Whether it’s deciding ‘enough is enough’ and letting him leave, or simply coming out and stating that he will be staying, United must assert their authority and take charge of the situation for their own good; if not, they risk starting the Premier League campaign against Chelsea with a huge dark cloud hovering above them, a cloud that could either be a sulky Frenchman in the middle of the park or a gaping void left by his departure.
[ad_pod ]