It doesn’t matter which club you are. Whether you’re Hereford or Barcelona, every once in a while a club has to let go a young talent that ideally they’d have liked to have kept. It happens all the time in the football.
Of course down the years letting young players go hasn’t come back to bite Manchester United on the backside too many times. Peter Beardsley famously was let go by Ron Atkinson after a brief stay at the club.
The winger went onto become a house-hold name for Newcastle United, Liverpool and England and was one player who would have shone at Old Trafford if given the chance.
However you can’t keep every young talent at the club. There are only so many spaces in the squad that can be filled and in today’s modern football, young players who clearly have a bright future can at times be swayed by the bright-lights of a bigger salary elsewhere. After all who can blame them if their agent can help set up a better deal for them.
Young players have and always will want to play. But due to the money involved today, younger players have more of a say than ever. They get paid more and can increase their salary by demanding a better deal at their club or seeking one elsewhere.
Whether you wanted Paul Pogba to stay at Manchester United or not, the boy has started life in Turin with Juventus very well. Last night he scored twice in Juve’s 4-0 romp in Serie A over a dire Udinese side. Pogba’s goals were great individual long-range strikes, not unfamiliar with some of the goals he scored for United’s reserve and academy sides.
See for yourself.
The boy’s got talent. We know that. That’s why it hurt a little when he left in the summer.
Deep down nobody at the club – Sir Alex Ferguson included – really wanted him to go. He has all the tools to become a star powerhouse midfielder. He’s big, strong, works hard, has a great presence, can control the pace of a game and as you’ve seen by that video can score the odd belter…or two.
But let’s get some facts clear. If Pogba would have wanted to have stayed, he would have done so. So yes United have lost a talent, but if he didn’t want to stay then why keep a player who doesn’t want to keep at the club. It’s a no-brainer really.
That’s not a criticism of Pogba who clearly has a lot of belief in his own ability. Yes his agent probably didn’t help the situation but Pogba believed he was good enough not only to warrant a big pay-rise but good enough to be a regular in the squad despite his limited first-team experience.
The club disagreed and after lengthy contract negotiations Pogba decided to leave for pastures new in Italy. He has appeared 18 times for Juventus doing well to feature in as many games due to the competition for places in midfield, playing the full 90 on seven occasions.
To date he has proved that he is a fantastic prospect for the future. However that’s all he is at the moment. He will face challenges over the next couple of years to keep his consistency up but the signs are there and he will probably come through to become a great player.
Will Manchester United lose out in the long-term as a result? No.
United have lost bigger players than Pogba. They’ve lost some good young players as well. Guiseppe Rossi comes to mind and the season he was sold United went onto win a League and Champions League double, so much for the club missing his goals.
Yes whilst only a fool wouldn’t admit that United do lack a midfielder of Pogba’s type at the club, they are doing pretty well at the moment this season and aren’t exactly short of match-winning talent. They will always be challenging for major honours.
One player doesn’t make a club. Pogba himself has moved on from United, it’s about time the debate of will United regret letting him go be moved on, as there are far more interesting things worth talking about.
By Adam Dennehey @ADennehey87
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