Manchester United look set to finally sign Paul Pogba after weeks of speculation.
It seems that French midfielder Paul Pogba is finally set to complete a world record £89million move from Juventus to Manchester United.
The 23-year-old is reportedly at the club s Carrington training ground undergoing a medical.
Assuming all goes well the midfielder should complete his mega-money move in next couple of days, dragging out the saga just a bit longer.
A costly mistake for United
Pogba’s return to United is probably one of the worst kept secrets that football has seen in recent years. The French midfielder returning to Old Trafford illustrates what a costly mistake it was to allow him to leave in 2012 on a free transfer.
The midfielder made just seven senior appearances for the Red Devils in all competitions, which all came from the bench before making the move to Turin in search of first team football.
The move turned out rather well for the youngster, as he has won four Serie A titles and also appeared in the Champions League final against Barcelona in 2015.
Juventus was the perfect place for Pogba to continue his development. The precocious talent needed first team football to aid his development and the Bianconeri gave him that chance. The club from Turin will now be financially rewarded for their foresight.
Developed into a highly-rated midfielder
Paul Pogba’s time at Juventus has seen him blossom from a highly-rated youngster to a player that is now regarded as one of the best box-to-box midfielders in world football at just 23. He has the ability and potential to be the complete central midfielder.
Good central midfielders should be able to pass, tackle and score goals, but most are limited in certain facets of their game. Pogba does not seem like he is. He is probably best driving forward and causing problems for the opposition.
However, he also has enough football intelligence to do a defensive job for the team and not go marauding forward when his team needs him to sit in central midfield. He is not perfect and still has things to learn, but who is?
One thing he did develop well was a winning mentally, something that Manchester United have lost since the retirement of managerial legend Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013.
United have also lacked characters or personality in their team. This summer they have addressed that issue in dramatic style by hiring Jose Mourinho as boss and signing charismatic Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic as well.
A battle for the title
Ever since Mourinho was appointed as United boss and Pep Guardiola was hired by Manchester City it was always going to be a battle for supremacy between the two Manchester clubs in the Premier League.
United are currently to win the Premier League title, second favourites behind Manchester City in the betting. However, the signing of a player of the calibre of Pogba will give everybody at United a massive lift, including the players themselves.
Manchester City have not really made any marquee signings this summer, choosing to bring in good players, but not superstars. The signing of Pogba will surely make the City hierarchy worried that their club could come second best to their city rivals next season.
United were always going to have to do something special this summer to complete with City nabbing Guardiola as boss. The arrivals of Mourinho, Ibrahimovic and Pogba would certainly fit into that category.
Manchester United were aiming to reach the top of the English football tree again and look to have made the necessary signings to challenge for the title once again. The signing of Pogba may just give United the edge in the battle for Mancunian supremacy in the new campaign.
Could signing Paul Pogba be decisive in the title race for United?
