Paul Pogba is no doubt Manchester United’s most talented and gifted player. However, he simply does not bring his full and total effort every match, and he’s just not a leader. There’s a limit to how much United can achieve when he’s the side’s best player. We’ve seen this in action since 2016.
As the club’s all time most expensive player, and an out of this world talent, there is a huge market for the Frenchman and World Cup winner. He’s out until December due to injury, and in the meantime Fred will start in his place, says manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
“Fred will probably take Paul’s position for a while now,” Solskjaer said ahead of his side’s League Cup clash at Chelsea tonight.
“There’s no use talking about who’s not going to be here for a long, long time because he’s not going to come on the pitch and help us until he’s fit.
“Paul’s been brilliant and he is a creative midfielder that we need, but then it is up to the others to step up.”
While the board doesn’t seem interested in selling Pogba, and Solskjaer seems to indicate that the stellar midfielder is here to stay, nevertheless transfer rumors persist. And they should because selling Pogba might give United a tremendous opportunity to genuinely rebuild.
He would fetch such a high transfer fee in the open market that they could really use that money to finance a legitimate roster makeover- something they badly need. Also, it would signal a clear direction, which is something not totally clear at this point.
So who would replace Pogba? There has been talk that Lille midfielder Boubakary Soumare could be lined up as a potential replacement, but that’s all just transfer rumors at this point.
Chelsea FC vs Manchester United FYIs
Kickoff: Wednesday Oct 30, 9 BST, Stamford Bridge
Team news for both sides: go to this link
Starting XI Predictions: Chelsea Manchester United
TV: Sky Sports Main Event
Referee: Paul Tierney
Prediction: Manchester United 2, Chelsea 1
Regardless of recent Premier League form, this is just a bad match-up for the west London side. They are winless in their last four, including the past two home contests, against MUFC.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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