WANTED !

The Winter Transfer Window, is  closing down; there’s only  a few days left  for the clubs, the players and their  agents, to do their business. As expected, no big deals, this is usually reserved for the Summer Window, but with Euro Cup, only a year away, many players will decide to stay at their club, securing playing time, instead of seeking adventure in unknown  pastures.

With Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, staying put in their respective clubs, pundits and fans interest was awaken by Paul Pogba’s agent declarations, about the French midfielder. Here’s what he had to say to La Gazzetta dello Sport :

“His contract renewal, was an easy decision. Not signing a new deal would have created a problem for Juventus and a weakness for Paul, said the player’s agent, Mino Raiola. But Paul, will be the only major star available at the end of the season; if you can’t go for Messi, Ronaldo or Ibrahimovic, you can go for Pogba, but if someone wants him, the market situation could see him go for more than 100M Euros( £74M). 

The Italian agent knows well the tricks of his trade; his players-clients are all over Europe and have worldwide reputation: Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Mario Balotelli, Maxwell, Blaise Mathuidi and many others are part of the list.

“Selling him and then regret it, is better than not selling him and regret afterwards; to keep him, Juventus must sign some great players, to help Paul ‘s progression. If not, Paris and PSG would be  a natural choice; if he wants to go, no one could stop him !”   added Raiola. No place for sentiments, only cold hard cash eh?

Only one destination for the 21-year-old? Surely not! The player’s future is on everyone’s lips: PSG, Chelsea, Real Madrid, or back to his first “love,” Manchester United?

Raiola’s wish to see him in the Parisian club is understandable; he’s the agent of four Parisians already and one more (a possibly futur Ballon d’Or) could bring him lots of fame and money, but what’s good for the agent is not  always for the player. How could he progress, playing (with all due respect) in an average league, as Ligue 1 ?

Real’s Madrid’s boss, Carlo Ancelotti, said that the Spanish club weren’t interested, thus setting off an angry counter attack from Juventus President, calling him “Liar” for Real had already made inquiries, about the player’s transfer.

Premier’s League, Chelsea, could be a good choice; playing in England, currently the most hard and difficult league in Europe, could help a lot the midfielder’s progression. Unfortunately, the club’s Manager, José Mourinho, is not recognised as a youngsters’ mentor(ask Eden Hazard !)

That leaves his former club, Manchester United ; the Frenchman left under not so nice circumstances, but sir Alex Ferguson is no more the team’s manager and the current one, Louis Van Gaal, would love to have him and furthermore, the club are ready to pay the price. If the player wants to show his worth, then maybe Man. U would be the right place.

Nevertheless, Pogba’s current teammate, Andrea Pirlo believes that Pogba will never return to his former club:”For whatever reasons, they chose not to give him a chance and that is a mistake, they’ll have to live with now, he said. I can’t see him returning to Manchester United.”

However, Juventus boss, Massimo Allegri thinks that the Italians would be willing to sell their talented player, if the price is right. “Everything in life, has a price, unfortunately he said. It’s difficult to replace world class players, but it can be done, as football goes on.”

Euro Cup  2016 is only 500 days away and the young Frenchman  would like to shine on his country soil; another year with the Italian Champions could give him more confidence as he will be playing in well known surroundings, but will he be able to resist the lure of money and shiny promises ? We’ll have the answer shortly, in this Summer Transfer Window.

Categories: Analysis, opinion

Tags: Juventus Torino, Manchester United, Paul Pogba, PSG, Raiola, Serie A tranfers