Man United would be silly to let Pogba go

MANCHESTER: The professional know-how of the Premier League footballers has been hotly questioned when Paul Pogba was named in the PFA season team this week. It's true that he's the only player not to be from Liverpool or Manchester City, but it takes a step back, please. The votes were cast when Pogba was in shape during the three-month rebound that followed the takeover of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Critics point to Eden Hazard's impressive statistics as a result of his omission, but Pogba's statistics are not bad either. No midfielder has scored more than 13 goals – although seven are penalties – and he is not playing for a team that scores a lot either. Manchester United are in sixth place more than any other position this season.

Of course, this is not to deny that there are obvious problems regarding the midfielder. One could argue that no player is judged harder: his record fees and high expectations are the cause (and his disconcerting inconsistency adds to that). But after Jose Mourinho, no one was on a slimmer ice with United fans than Pogba in December. He was perceived as a negative influence out of shape undermining his manager. All of this has been relegated to the background when he played a leading role in the resurgence of his team, but his future is again in the spotlight, as will be the case all summer.

Real Madrid – the club that Pogba wanted to join since Juventus before United persuades him to return to England, where he would be the star of the team and would be neither fourth nor fifth of a mythical order of the "Galactico" – wish it. The opinion of his compatriot, Zinedine Zidane, who thinks that Pogba will be better surrounded by top footballers, as he does with France, adds to the situation.

This saga will naturally growl – reports in France suggest that he has already mentioned his desire to leave – and will be motivated by Madrid's attempts to destabilize and flatter him. They will use their favorite media. If you do not like it, you should not hire a player like Pogba with an agent like Mino Raiola.

United currently has no plans to sell Pogba, which has just turned 26 in mid-March. Their patience was put to the test in early December, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants to found his team on the winner of the World Cup in France.

Does this make sense for Man United?

Pogba continues to be inconsistent, able to locate long pbades of one minute and lose the ball in one breath. The club knows that its agent will soon face huge payroll demands, serving a player who has played little in the biggest games of the United season last month. The majority of Barca members think that they can not understand Madrid's interest given the evidence of Pogba's two games against the Catalans.

Among United's fans, Pogba has no terrace song and does not have much support from fans during matches. Yet, his shirts are the best sellers of the megastore. He is accused of being too arrogant and arrogant, but in reality, Pogba is a polite young man who speaks four languages. He lives like a professional. he is never late, he trains well. This is not a big drinker or a mundane. He loves to dance and he's always active on social media – where, oddly enough, it's rarely mentioned that he's a Manchester United player – and that conduct often does not appeal to older generations even though this n & # 39; Surely not as damaging as drinking eight pints of beer at regular evenings as many United footballers did until the mid-1990s.

Plus, Pogba is the main man in the locker room since Wayne Rooney's departure, which young players admire. The Parisian is ranked among footballers and coaches. Brian McClair, a man Sir Alex Ferguson was hoping to become the club's football director in 2012 (the club's owners were not in agreement) and someone who saw Pogba arrive at United in his childhood and develop, also clbadify it.

"Pogba's attributes are quite offensive, he looks more like Lionel Messi than Patrick Vieira, Pogba can find a pbad, beat a player and has fantastic skills, and he can score goals." he has the best chance of success at Old Trafford, Paul Pogba has to play as much as possible in the bottom third of the pitch, whether he's playing ball, running in positions or shooting. "

Sometimes it works, sometimes no. The problem is complicated for Pogba: he plays under different officials in a system that has changed, often in a radical way, rather than evolving. This is not easy for a player, but what is the specific solution to Pogba and what can Solskjaer do? Mourinho, one of the most titled football executives, could not control Pogba. Who can do it?

Pogba operates in a world where he is frustrated because the team is frustrating. Not without reason either: he has the feeling that he's good enough to get into any team in the world, but United fans who watch him every week would not agree . The most prominent critics who pound Pogba have been successful players, but not successful managers. What would they do? Sell ​​or indulge? And if the answer is to sell, who would replace it?

Top-level footballers have been very difficult to sign in recent days and Pogba is considered world-clbad as a footballer, especially given its excellent record of injury. No United player has started as many games or scored as many goals as Pogba this season. Is it his fault if his former manager misplaced him or if his entourage is not so good?

In Barcelona, ​​Lionel Messi is the undisputed main man of the club, the one around which the team is built, the one who is consulted for new recruits, the one that the current coach, free of ego, caresses, knowing that he needs Messi. But Pogba is not Messi and has not yet earned this level of indulgence. At United, the manager has always been considered the most important person. Pogba, the most talented player, is not even the captain of the club, a role he would like. United really needs an authoritative captain rather than a man who rarely speaks English or an experienced man who is not one of the best players of the team. Bryan Robson, Roy Keane and Gary Neville led the pack. United is sorely lacking this ingredient.

United fans must pay attention to what they wish for this summer. It would not be inconceivable to see Pogba sold and become a global drummer – the one United needs – for someone else.

This article was first published on ESPN.com.