Transfer News: Newcastle United plotting a move for Manchester United star Paul Pogba

According to Miguel Delaney, the chief sports writer for The Independent in his newsletter (h/t ChronicleLive), Newcastle United are plotting a move to target Manchester United star Paul Pogba in the summer transfer window. He could depart Old Trafford at the end of this season, giving them a chance to make a case for themselves.

Pogba is in line to become a free agent as his current deal expires this summer. He has not signed a contract extension just yet, which opens up the possibility of an exit after this term. He is bound to become one of the most sought after players in world football as a result.

Manchester City have already been touted as a potential destination for the Frenchman. Now, Newcastle are considering the possibility of securing his services for free this summer. What’s more, they are even willing to increase the wages that he is currently earning at Man United.

Time to look past Pogba

It seems that the 29-year-old is nearing the end of the road when it comes to his spell with the Red Devils. Things didn’t turn out the way both parties would have wanted following his high profile transfer from Juventus.

What made matters even worse is how the Premier League ace consistently performed well for his national team while failing to showcase the same world-class quality regularly for us. Perhaps parting ways with each other is in the best of both parties moving forward.

We are looking to rebuild our declined squad under Erik ten Hag, and a fresh approach could be what we need for a better future. In such a case, losing the Man United midfielder may not be a blow, although we would like him to move abroad rather than stay in England.

After all, Man United fans would not want Pogba to cause us issues by joining one of our direct rivals. Transfer links to Man City are concerning, to say the least, and the same can be said for the Toons’ interest. Then again, our fanbase would ideally like him to join up with the Magpies rather than teaming with Pep Guardiola given our historic rivalry with the Cityzens- if these are the two teams that it boils down to.

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It is time to envisage a United without Pogba. The Frenchman symbolised hope and ambition when he was signed from Juventus but instead became the poster boy for an underachieving Man United. It is best we now look at players that fit our system and satisfy ten Hag when it comes to consistency and performance.

Pogba had his ups and downs with us but it was a move that never really worked out- for us or for him. His World Cup with France in 2018 remains the highlight of his career and it is a shame he could replicate those level of performances on a consistent basis at Old Trafford.