With a point to prove after failed six years at Man Utd – Pogba set for return to Juventus

Midfielder back to Italy 

Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba is expected to complete a free transfer to Juventus in the coming days. According to reports in England, the France international is set to meet with officials from the Serie A club and hammer out a deal before his deal with the Old Trafford side officially expires next week. In typical fashion, Paul Pogba had to make sure his departure from Man Utd was firmly placed in the limelight with him making the final remark about the entire, sorry affair. In a promotional trailer for his “Pogmentary” show on Amazon Prime, the player makes it perfect clear how he feels about leaving the Old Trafford club: “My thought process now is to show Manchester they made a mistake in waiting to give me a contract.”

With a move to Turin all but secured and confirmed, the World Cup winner will do all he can to control the narrative around his departure from English football and a chapter in his career that will undoubtedly go down as six wasted years in Manchester. A return to form in Italy may showcase that the player wasn’t entirely at fault for his lacklustre time with the Red Devils, but it would have to be pretty spectacular to convince many that the midfielder simply wasn’t up to the task of thriving in the Premier League. 

It’s safe to say that Paul Pogba’s spell at Man Utd didn’t exactly go according to plan…

Can he turn his career around at Juventus? pic.twitter.com/lk1vYUKpIb

— Transfermarkt.co.uk (@TMuk_news) June 23, 2022

Player or club at fault? Pogba’s downfall at Man Utd explained 

Perhaps the biggest issue with Pogba’s move to Man Utd was the transfer itself. Signed for around €105 million in the summer of 2016, the French midfielder not only became the most expensive player ever but unquestionably and immediately harboured the hopes and dreams of the club’s support. The Red Devils had finally (re)signed a world star and could build their team around him. 

However, the issue with that expectation was simply that Pogba isn’t the type of player that any team can really build themselves around. As something of a roaming No.8, Pogba isn’t a defensive midfielder or attacking playmaker and over the course of his six years at the club has struggled to form meaningful partnerships with any other midfielder or nail down a position that he can call his own. As such, over the course of his 233 games for the Premier League giants, Pogba played as a central midfielder in 154, a defensive midfielder in 26, an attacking playmaker in 27 and out on the wings in 25. A jack of all trades perhaps, but a master of none. 

How do Paul Pogba’s stats during his time at Man Utd compare to his time at Juventus?

Oddly enough, they’re surprisingly similarpic.twitter.com/ayakeUP5Kw

— Transfermarkt.co.uk (@TMuk_news) June 23, 2022

Which, perhaps, isn’t entirely Pogba’s fault. Over the course of his Man Utd career, the French midfielder bagged 39 goals and 51 assists. Although that may not be entirely impressive, it set an average of 0.46 goals and assists per 90. Which, surprisingly enough, is almost identical to his return for Juventus, which stood at 0.48 per 90. Whether Pogba became the star Man Utd fans hoped he would become is beyond question. He certainly didn’t match the expectations thrust upon him. But did he continue being the player Man Utd signed in from Juventus? Almost certainly. 

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