Paul Pogba transferred to Manchester United in the summer of 2009, but the young Frenchman quickly became forgotten about at the club. In the summer of 2012 when his contract was coming to an end he decided it was the right decision for him to move to the Italian giants Juventus after racking up only 7 senior appearances for the Premier League club. But was this the right decision for his career?
Maybe, but the summer move did seem to suit Pogba as his time at Manchester United was very limited. But Manchester United who are looking to reclaim the title off Manchester City and have an evident gaping hole in their central midfield. One that Pogba could have made his, but there were problems between Pogba and Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
It was evident that it was a battle of two egos, unhappy with his lack of time on the pitch Pogba was refusing to sign a new contract at the club and was evidently biding his time until a free transfer to Juventus in the summer. Sir Alex then went on to criticize Pogba for not signing a new contract and also placed blame on his agent Mino Raiolo who has a reputation through out Europe for not yielding.
With United unwilling to offer Pogba a new contract and Pogba just seeing out his time at Manchester United, he packed his bag and moved to Juventus in summer. It was an odd move for him as he was not guaranteed a starting place at Juventus either as they had a strong starting line up. They claimed the Scudetto and went unbeaten all season in the league and one of the keys to that was the midfield trio of MVP – Claudio Marchisio, Arturo Vidal and Andrea Pirlo.
However he became a key cog to the Juventus side, performing well, picking up Man Of The Match awards and arguably scoring one of the goals of the season against Napoli with a brilliant volley from outside the box which found its way to the bottom corner of the net. Even Juventini are surprised at how quickly he has become an important player for the club.
But the only thing that has overshadowed his great performances is himself, his temperament. He was dropped from the Juventus squad before Christmas, following a report of him showing up late for training twice. While Pogba’s agent has defended the player because of ‘extenuating circumstances.’
This looks to have acted as a wake-up call for young Pogba as he has started the post-winter season even stronger – the highlight being a spectacular double against Udinese in January. And although he may jump in and out of Conte’s starting eleven, it is very rarely that he doesn’t feature at all in a match. As the trust in Pogba continues to grow hopefully his ability to mesmerise us does also. The only person who can hold him back is himself!