Lakshay Khurana
Manchester United have finally signed Paul Pogba from Juventus. They have paid a world-record £89m to sign the 23-year-old, four years after he left to joined Juventus for £1.5m.
In addition to the massive transfer fee, United are also committed to make a further £4.25m payment to Juventus if Pogba signs a contract extension.
The club is also paying Mino Raiola (Pogba’s agent) for his part in the deal but they are not making an additional payment to the agent on behalf of Juventus, who have made a payment out of the fee they have received from Old Trafford.
Having secured his four importantly required transfer targets of Paul Pogba, striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, playmaker Henrikh Mkhitaryan and defender Eric Bailly, United manager Jose Mourinho has his 23 outfield players he feels are required for a season that involves a Europa League campaign.
Too much hype has been created in this transfer window this season. But where does all this leads to? 4 players have been added to the main squad, which would mean a few players would have to leave the club or spend most of their time on the bench, now that Mourinho has brought in some serious contenders for their position in the team.
The skipper Wayne Rooney has been judged by critics as another add-on to United’s bench, with the joining of the highly-rated French midfielder.
It may be true or becomes one later on but for now, it’s safe to assume that Mourinho has a lot of respect for the English captain as a player and foresees him in his plans at Old Trafford. But Paul Pogba might be a bad news for Rooney as he might take away the no.10 role.
Manchester United’s midfield has been lacking a certain attribute since Paul Scholes hung up his boots (the second time). And a few say they have never found a real great midfield general to replace the Irish maestro Roy Keane.
Now the Red Devils have someone who can fill those shoes, a player who humbly describes himself as a ‘do-it-all’ midfielder. Jose will most probably not snub Rooney for Pogba. He will find a way to adjust both of them into the same line-up by making sure that other important players keep their role and consistency on the team sheet. Ideally, the Portuguese manager will slot him in as one of two holding midfielders.
Of the team that played in Sunday’s Community Shield at Wembley, the Belgium international Marouane Fellaini is the most obvious player to be replaced. However, Pogba has already commented that he will play wherever he is required to.
Sacrificing Rooney to play Pogba nonetheless will be a bad decision. It’s a different story if Rooney isn’t in the best of his form but otherwise, the United captain is almost irreplaceable given some certain abilities and attributes he has developed in past few years. Rooney has the best passing and positioning abilities in the team, and it will be against the favour of the team to bench him just to play Pogba in that particular position.
But the French maestro is an excellent versatile midfielder who will make sure to give his best at any position, without having other important players to be ignored off the team sheet because of him. We can’t possibly see him going for the no.10 role in near future.
