Manchester United: A positive update on Paul Pogba’s contract situation
Paul Pogba is the most expensive footballer bought by Manchester United, thus far.
Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba is eager to extend his contract, which potentially runs till the summer of 2022, after being convinced by the project embarked on under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer more than 12 months ago.
Pogba, coming through the ranks at Old Trafford, re-signed for Manchester United in a world-record deal worth £89.3 million from Juventus, having joined the Turin club in search of regular playing time.
Since his move to Man United, Pogba has managed to win two trophies in the League Cup and Europa League, respectively. However, a strained relationship with the previous manager coupled with lack of direction meant that the World Cup winner tried to seek a new challenge away from England.
Despite a concrete interest from Juventus and Real Madrid last summer, Paul Pogba failed to seal a move away from Manchester United as none of the mentioned clubs failed to match the £80m price-tag set on the France international.
Mino Raiola exclusive to @SkySport @DiMarzio: “Pogba is key player for Man Utd, they’ve an important project and he’s 100% included. Man Utd will not accept any bid on this summer to sell Pogba. We’re going to speak about a new contract soon, no stress...” 🔴 #MUFC #Pogba
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 23, 2020
A long-term ankle injury worsened matters further as Paul Pogba looked all but certain to leave United at the next possible moment. But after the winter transfer window passed, it all started to work in favour of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in a bid to convince the Frenchman to commit his long-term future at Old Trafford.
The arrival of Bruno Fernandes had transcended Man United’s performance levels among the league’s best, providing a solid foundation for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to build a successful team as the season ended with a very promising third-place finish in the Premier League.
Paul Pogba, after recovering from ankle surgery, had forged a booming partnership with Bruno Fernandes, thereby maintaining ample supply lines to the dynamic forward trio of Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, and Mason Greenwood.
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Solskjaer, with an unbeaten 14-game streak to finish the 2019/20 Premier League term, has made a solid case for his ongoing project in front of Pogba. Plus in the current market affected with the pandemic -induced shutdown, no club is in a position to bear the load of Pogba’s finances.
"Paul Pogba is prepared to sign a new contract at Manchester United. Initial talks have already taken place with the midfielder’s agent, Mino Raiola.Pogba believed he had an informal agreement with United to allow him to leave by the end of the campaign if an acceptable offer was made and that the club, which had already turned down a bid from Barcelona, would not stand in his way. (Jason Burt, The Telegraph)"
The talks over Pogba’s contract extension are expected to begin soon. However, Man United are certainly short of quality depth in their squad should they want to close the gap on league rivals Liverpool and Manchester City.
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