With the Frenchman having completed his record-breaking return to Old Trafford from Juventus, Goal pits two writers against each other over whether he's the right or wrong man
The deal is finally done. The wait is over at last. The longest-running transfer saga of the summer has ended with Manchester United making Paul Pogba the most expensive player in football history by agreeing to pay Juventus £93.8 million for the France international.
It is a remarkable move for many reasons, not least because the Bianconeri only had to hand over €800,000 in compensation to the Red Devils when they signed the midfielder on a free transfer four years ago.
Not that United fans care. They are understandably overjoyed by Pogba's return - but many neutrals are staggered by the size of the free, given this is a player who is coming off the back of an underwhelming and unsuccessful Euro 2016 campaign.
As a result, Goal has decided to pitted two opposing views against one another in a debate over whether the 23-year-old represents a sound investment...
THE RIGHT MAN FOR MAN UTD
By Mark Doyle
It has taken Manchester United four years to realise what was immediately evident to Andrea Pirlo. "We saw from his first training session with Juventus that he was special," the former Bianconeri playmaker revealed earlier this year. "There was a disbelief among the senior players that Manchester United had allowed him to leave." Indeed, Juve captain Gianluigi Buffon admitted, "We thought they maybe needed glasses in Manchester!"
While Alex Ferguson may have been guilty of shocking short-sightedness, United have, at least, belatedly seen the error of the ways, breaking the transfer fee world record to bring Pogba back to Old Trafford. Is he worth €105m? In truth, no player should command such a fee. As Arsene Wenger quite rightly pointed out, "It is completely crazy if you compare it to normal life."
However, there is nothing normal about the world of football and in an environment in which most people know the price of everything but the value of nothing, Pogba's price tag makes sense.
On a commercial level (and, rather sadly, this counts for a lot these days), United have just acquired one of the most marketable young sports stars on the planet. From a footballing perspective, they have just reclaimed the most complete midfielder in the game today.
"I have never seen a player who is so good at his age," Buffon enthused last year. "He is so strong, so technically gifted, has exceptional all-round play. Pogba can do things only Pogba can, similar to [Lionel] Messi and [Cristiano] Ronaldo."
He is not yet at the same level as those two living legends but the point is that he undoubtedly has the ability to get there. Like Messi, he is a former Golden Boy winner, while he has already played a key role in four successive Serie A title triumphs. Pogba has been improving at a rapid rate - nobody racked up more assists in Italy's top flight last season (12) - and the exciting thing for United is that he is only going to get better.
Indeed, it is only a matter of time before he wins the Ballon d'Or and, in truth, the question is not really whether Pogba will prove good enough to meet United's expectations - but whether they will prove good enough to meet his.
THE WRONG MAN FOR MAN UTD
THE WRONG MAN FOR MAN UTD
By Miles Chambers
Paul Pogba is not Manchester United's messiah; he's a very overpriced boy.
This is a deal that sits outside the realms of reason, logic and good taste. Splashing a €110 million transfer fee for a player who isn't a matchwinner like Cristiano Ronaldo or Gareth Bale is absurd, as is Pogba's desire to watch Juventus challenge for Champions League while he slugs away in the Europa League with Man Utd.
Make no mistake, Pogba is extremely talented. Graced with a poise and pizzazz that few midfielders on the planet are able to match, the 23-year-old has grown into the beating heart of a Juventus side that dominate Italian football.
But is he worth €110 million? Does he deserve the tag of the most expensive player in history? Will Jose Mourinho play him in his ideal position? No, probably not, and definitely not.
Mourinho plays 4-2-3-1 and Pogba is expected to sit alongside a defensive midfielder behind the four attackers. That won't suit Pogba, who is allowed to roam forwards in an attack-minded central midfield position for Juve.
Pogba didn't perform as well for France this summer in a more restrictive role and yet the suits with more money than sense at Old Trafford have decreed that he'll fit into an overrated manager's outdated system without difficulty.
And let's also be clear about something: Serie A is very different to the Premier League. Pogba was a big fish in a small pond in Italy, where Juventus reign supreme and the style of football is distinctly different.
In stark contrast, Man Utd couldn't make the top four last season and will be relying on two over-the-hill strikers (Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Wayne Rooney), a promising but inconsistent forward (Anthony Martial), and a teenager with tons of talent but very limited experience (Marcus Rashford) to fire them to glory in 2016-17. Pogba's got magical feet but he's not Houdini.
Fifteen years ago, Man Utd broke the English football transfer record by spending £28.1 million on Serie A midfield star Juan Sebastian Veron. The Argentine was expected to be a superstar but couldn't adapt to the pace of the Premier League and, though Sir Alex Ferguson branded Veron's critics "f*cking idiots" during his two-year spell at Old Trafford, he is widely considered one of the biggest flops in the club's history.
A decade later, Fergie was the "f*cking idiot" for disillusioning Pogba and it's cost Man Utd a nine-figure sum to buy him back. And like Veron's transfer 15 years ago, this is likely to be another case of a talented midfielder burdened with a huge transfer fee not fitting a belligerent Man Utd manager's masterplan.
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