Paul Pogba has United by the balls
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By editor, Dale O’Donnell
I’m not looking forward to the next year of constant speculation surrounding Paul Pogba.
Right when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looks to be building a formidable side, following the signings of Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane, the Frenchman and Mino Raiola (not to forget the real mastermind Rafaela Pimenta is never far away) will be plotting their game plan to come out the other side with the biggest deal possible.
Former academy player Alan Tongue nailed it on Twitter last night, writing: “Pogba got the club by the b*****s and he knows it. Potential nightmare of a 90 million player leaving for free! Need some strong management from Ole. Tell him to either commit or sell him on. He’s either with us for the long haul or not. A harmonious dressing room is crucial!”
While every man and his dog knows Pogba’s wish is to play for Real Madrid, it looks like the Spanish club, led by a morally bankrupt Florentino Perez, will try pull money out of every corner of the Spanish bank to make Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe the next Galactico.
It remains to be seen if Pogba will be part of those plans.
Raiola loves nothing more than dealing with clients who become free agents because it usually makes for a bigger pay day, but will Real Madrid be interested in Pogba in 12-months time? For all the talk of their previous interest no bid has ever been made.
Juventus have other problems and are only likely to come into play if the player becomes a free agent, so that leaves PSG being his only other option this summer.
That, commit to United or grin in the club’s direction as he leaves on a free?
🥶 Jadon Sancho likes the new away kit
Adidas haven’t done alright with the kits for this season, eh?
🇫🇷 We’re really signing Raphael Varane
Although I have been confident for the past month about United signing Varane, I still wake up amazed at the thought he’s the one we have secured to play alongside Harry Maguire next season.
The World Cup winner was only prepared to leave Real Madrid to join United, so that makes you think a little about Pogba’s recent FaceTime exchange with his fellow countryman.
United announced on Tuesday night they had agreed a deal with Madrid for the 28-year-old, subject to medical. We heard that evening that United hoped Varane would complete his medical by Wednesday or Thursday but COVID-19 protocols have made completing transfers trickier.
There was an opportunity for Varane to complete his medical in Madrid, however, United decided they wanted their own staff to led proceedings.
After all it’s much better to have that hands on approach when dealing with athletes worth multi-millions.
On Friday, Varane said his goodbyes at Real Madrid.
One source close to Varane revealed United have been working on this deal for 12-months, and another complimented how the club operated “smoothly” throughout negotiations in a bid to get the transfer over the line.
Fabrizio Romano’s latest on the story suggests Varane could arrive in Manchester on Monday to complete his deal next week.
💩 Pep talking out of his back passage over £100m transfers
Midlands football reporter for the Daily Telegraph, John Percy, broke the news on Friday that Manchester City had made a £100 million offer for Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish.
Cast your minds back to last season — before City took on Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League. Guardiola was quizzed about the Bundesliga side’s £100m-rated striker Erling Haaland.
His response?
“No, not at all. Not for the fact we have not spent for one player a lot of money, gives you advantage. Football is a team game, everyone makes his contribution.
“The guys who doesn’t play makes his contribution, the backroom staff and everyone, so it’s not just one player, it’s for absolutely everyone.
“So far the club has decided not to spent not close to £100m for a player, or more than £100m on a player, maybe in the future it is going to happen if they decide it is necessary to improve the team for the next five, 10 years, for many reasons.
“But so far the club, the organisation, the CEO, the sporting director decided not to do it and that’s why they didn’t do it. But maybe in the future, I don’t know.”
Didn’t take long for Pep to change his tune.
Existing Stretty Newsletter subscribers will know already about Grealish’s nailed on switch to the Etihad.
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