Manchester United are ready to sell Paul Pogba in January and are reportedly willing to leave him out of the team if necessary. The France international’s contract is due to expire at the end of the campaign. And, now, a parting of the ways appears to be on the cards with the club fed up of his agent, Mino Raiola.
United were convinced Pogba would be the ticket to Champions League and Premier League glory when they spent £89million on the midfielder back in the summer transfer window of 2016.
However, nearly six years on, and it would be no understatement to say the 28-year-old’s time at the club hasn’t worked out.
Things went well for Pogba at the start, with United winning the EFL Cup and Europa League during Jose Mourinho’s first year in charge.
But the midfielder has blown hot and cold ever since, often struggling for consistency under both Mourinho and his successor, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
With his contract due to expire in the summer, European giants Real Madrid, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona have all been linked.
And The Sun say United are willing to let Pogba go.
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They’re so fed up with the midfielder they’re even said to be prepared to leave him out of the team if necessary, believing he’s become a ‘sideshow’.
It’s noted they’re particularly frustrated with Raiola, who has often been critical of United’s handling of his client.
And it’s now looking increasingly likely Pogba will be sold on the cheap when the transfer window reopens in the New Year.
Solskjaer has tried the 2018 World Cup winner in a variety of different roles in order to coax the best from him.
Yet Pogba has continued to falter and United may now use funds from any potential sale to boost their squad in January.
The Red Devils would like to sign a defensive-midfielder in the New Year, having missed out on one during the summer.
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And two names have been strongly linked in recent weeks.
Declan Rice continues to be tracked, with the West Ham star currently flourishing under David Moyes over at the London Stadium.
And Rice’s England team-mate, Kalvin Phillips, is reportedly on United’s radar as they look to turn their season around.
There have been some reports that Pogba would actually like to stay at United, providing he receives a huge pay rise.
But the Red Devils, for now, don’t appear to be willing to give in to his demands.
Real have never signed a Raiola client permanently and, with Zinedine Zidane no longer in charge, it’ll be interesting to see whether they make a move.
Juventus saw Pogba dazzle during his previous spell in Turin and they currently seem frontrunners in the race to snap him up.
PSG can’t be entirely discounted, especially with the Ligue 1 titans raiding the free agent market in recent years.
And Barcelona, if they can solve their financial difficulties, would be in the race as well.
Paul Scholes recently ripped into Pogba after he was dismissed in United’s heavy 5-0 defeat to Liverpool.
He said: “Paul Pogba coming on to the pitch at half time to try to help the team and maybe get a little respectability about it, tries to stand on the ball, tries to show how strong he is in the middle of the pitch… gives the goal away.
“Then later on gets sent off with a ridiculous tackle, now you’re 5-0 down with 10 men. You’d have to think, if Ole’s still a manager there, will we see Pogba again in a United shirt?
“He’s caused mayhem over the last couple of years. Everyone knows what a talent he is, everybody trusts him, every manager trusts him, tried to give him his head and let him be the player he’s been.
“But with all the commotion, not signing his contract, almost holding the club to ransom, and then he comes on and does something like that.
“It’s not Ole’s fault, don’t get me wrong, but that’s part of it which almost summed the United performance up today.
“Look, he probably will play [again] won’t he? But I don’t think they will be missing anything if he doesn’t.
“He’s had numerous chances, he keeps saying he lacks consistency, but that is just [a lack of] discipline and disrespect for your manager and your teammates, what he’s done today.”
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