According to reports, Manchester United club officials believe that midfielder Paul Pogba has now played his final game for the club. The France international has not featured for the Red Devils since the end of September, and his absence for the club’s Carabao Cup clash against Colchester United on Wednesday night now means that he has missed 20 of United’s 26 matches this term.
A mixture of injuries and illnesses have been cited for the reasons behind Pogba’s lack of involvement throughout the previous three months. Videos of the 26-year-old joyfully dancing at his brother’s wedding emerged on social media earlier this week, and while there is of course nothing wrong with Pogba enjoying himself at a family event, the fact that just hours earlier his manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer revealed that illness had “set him back quite a bit,” confirms that something is seriously amiss. It was clearly an attempted cover-up by a manager who is being steadily driven to his wits end by a player who does not wish to remain a Manchester United player anymore.
Speculation linking Pogba with a move to La Liga with Real Madrid dominated the rumour mill in the summer, and it is now evident that his heart is completely set on a move to the Spanish capital. Pogba’s blatant disrespect towards the club who pay his staggering wages is becoming more and more apparent as the weeks pass by – his exit from the club now seems as though it is a necessity rather than an option.
The transfer market reopens in just under two weeks’ time and if United decide that enough is enough and that they wish to cash-in on their former talisman, Madrid are expected to welcome him with open arms. “He’s training, but he’s not been training with us for long. He’s training and that’s a step forward for us,” said Solskjaer in a recent press conference.
“It [the injury] was something that really needed sorting but I don’t think I should give you all the medical info, but he’s now feeling good and getting better, it’s worked. He’s not getting sold in January,” added the United boss. Despite the Norwegian’s comments, it is far from convincing from the outside looking in and it would come as little surprise if Pogba did depart Old Trafford at the start of 2020.
Betfair have the Frenchman priced at 6/1 to seal a move to the Bernabeu in January, while a return to his former club, Juventus, is currently priced at 12/1 with William Hill. PSG are 20/1 to prize him away in January (Paddy Power), while you can get the same odds for him to engineer a move to Real’s fierce rivals Barcelona with William Hill.
Pogba is 1/7 to remain a United player upon the closure of the winter transfer market. Should he stay put, it is more than likely that Pogba’s transfer – most likely to Real Madrid – will be sanctioned in the summer. Indeed, with the latest spanner in the works thrown into the mix after months of frustration brought on by injury, we could now have seen the last of Paul Pogba at Manchester United.