Newcastle United have been linked with a summer move for Paul Pogba who looks set to leave Manchester United as a free agent.
The World Cup winner’s contract at Old Trafford expires at the end of June and it looks a formality that the 29-year-old will leave the Red Devils on a free transfer for the second time in his career.
After being brought back to the Theatre of Dreams for a world-record £89m (BBC Sport) from Juventus in the summer of 2016, Manchester United had hoped that Jose Mourinho would be able to build a formidable team around the Frenchman.
However, the return to Manchester hasn’t worked out for either Man United or Pogba and it looks like Mino Raiola’s client will be the subject of several offers this summer.
The Sun report that Juventus, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain are favourites to land Pogba, but Newcastle, as well as Aston Villa, are monitoring the situation.
Struggling to nail down a specific position at Man United under the likes of Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick, Pogba is a completely different player when he represents Les Bleus.
Pogba comes alive playing for Didier Deschamps’ French side and that often brings huge frustration to the Manchester United fanbase that they haven’t seen that consistency in Manchester.
PIF would have to shatter their wage structure to lure Pogba to Tyneside. And with Man United’s number six potentially approaching the last long-term contract of his career, Pogba is going to want to join a side who is ready to challenge for major honours immediately.
Despite winning the World Cup, Pogba hasn’t won the Champions League or a league title aside from his fruitful spell in Turin.
Paul Pogba has frustrated Newcastle legend Alan Shearer
Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer, in his role as a pundit, has previously stated that he doesn’t believe Pogba has lived up to his potential.
Speaking about the Frenchman this time last year, via the Daily Star, Shearer said: “We’ve said it so many times that the ability is there but we probably haven’t seen it enough.
“We know what he can do.”
But in last summer’s European Championships, the Premier League’s all-time top goalscorer waxed lyrical about Pogba’s technical qualities, following the assist he produced which led to Karim Benzema scoring against Portugal.
“What a pass from Pogba,” said Shearer on BBC Sport. “The weight of pass, the run. Everything about it was perfection.”
Paul Pogba would be one hell of a marquee signing by PIF this summer but it seems nigh on impossible that Newcastle United will be his next destination. And given Shearer’s comments on the French international, it’s a risk not worth taking by Eddie Howe’s side.
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