Paul Pogba | Undergoing Medical | Helping out the Laundry Ladies

Do you want Pogba for £100 million?

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LonelyFire said:
The answer to all of the above questions is the same - it is "he could be". He has the attributes to become great at all of these things. Certainly right now, he is better suited in a Lampard type role which is where i would expect Jose would use him should we get him. However, physically he is capable of playing deeper and breaking up play. His passing ability is actually fantastic.

From a fan's perspective, you are getting someone who is supremely talented and can already perform on the big stage. From the club's perspective, you are getting someone who is young, knows the club, has bags of potential to improve.....and huge commercial potential. Sadly, that last part comes into it.
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I agree with parts of your post. Lampard, Toure, etc., that is exactly the kind of player I see him become, may be a better version of them. Someone who is going to burst from the midfield and get us 10+ goals. I actually think he'll replace Rooney in the team and we'll play 433 this season.

I don't think he is capable of playing a deeper role or that he can develop a vision or passing associated with the very top central midfielders.

The last part is probably correct. We are massively overpaying because of a whole lot of other things than just his performances on the pitch.

bucky said:
His vision and passing are probably better than people seem to give him credit for. He's definitely a very good player, when pressed. Most opponents can hardly get the ball off him, similar to Vieira. He's obviously not on Vieira's level yet, especially in terms of leadership, before someone misinterprets what I am trying to say.

He's one of Juventus' best players and they are one of the best teams around Europe. His goals and assists have contributed a lot to their dominance domestically. What you define as world class might not be what he is, but I don't think there are many midfielders better than him.
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I think it's decent but nowhere good enough to pay 100m for.

I have actually seen him lose the ball a lot when pressed. Though, I expect that to improve as he grows into the midfield role.

He is Juve's best player in a free kind of midfield role. Vidal and Marchisio did all the grunt work when he played with them.
 
In Rainbows said:
I think you're underrating his vision and passing. He definitely needs to improve in controlling matches, which is a big reason why Modric is as good as he is.

Pogba can dribble past players better than most midfielders too. He's an offensive talent, which I believe United needs.
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From what i have seen of him that's not really his game, he's more of an attacking midfielder looking to make runs into the box, shoot and to link up with the striker.
 
In tight games at Old Trafford, Pogba would be useful. He's got a great ability to shift the ball as well as manipulate it. I don't think he's the type to control games because in the final third he's more likely to create something or get on the end of chances. If the ball comes to him, he won't hide from it - but unless we control games in the final third - he won't be controlling games.
 
It's fine to question the fee but you don't have Barcelona and Real Madrid wanting you, Juventus not wanting to sell and the fans not wanting to sell at any price without being a top player and questioning his quality is ridiculous because your questioning the scouting at both Barcelona and Real. Maybe we are paying over the odds but he will dramatically improve our midfield and is worth it to get into the Champions League and challenge for the title. Even if Barcelona would have paid £75m and Real £85m then they would be buying to put straight into their team showing how good he is/will be and no one would argue with their squads being the best.

Stop judging players, good or bad, on International tournaments. Most of the time players are played out of position or asked to do roles that isn't their strong points for the 'good' of the team.
 
Scarecrow said:
What? Don't post when you have nothing to say.
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It's a perfectly valid point. Martial cost us a lot of money but we're all fine with that because he's young and going to be great. Pogba is also young and is also going to be great.
 
Insanity said:
I agree with parts of your post. Lampard, Toure, etc., that is exactly the kind of player I see him become, may be a better version of them. Someone who is going to burst from the midfield and get us 10+ goals. I actually think he'll replace Rooney in the team and we'll play 433 this season.

I don't think he is capable of playing a deeper role or that he can develop a vision or passing associated with the very top central midfielders.

The last part is probably correct. We are massively overpaying because of a whole lot of other things than just his performances on the pitch.



I think it's decent but nowhere good enough to pay 100m for.

I have actually seen him lose the ball a lot when pressed. Though, I expect that to improve as he grows into the midfield role.

He is Juve's best player in a free kind of midfield role. Vidal and Marchisio did all the grunt work when he played with them.
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He can play deeper - he's just not as effective. I see the same in him as i did when first started watching him in the U18s, positional discipline leaves a lot to be desired. His long passing ability is actually very good but no doubt at his best when he is rampaging forward and thats where i would see him in the short terms. As he develops, he will get better and become more accustomed to playing deeper. This guy is as talented as they come.
 
In Rainbows said:
I think you're underrating his vision and passing. He definitely needs to improve in controlling matches, which is a big reason why Modric is as good as he is.

Pogba can dribble past players better than most midfielders too. He's an offensive talent, which I believe United needs.
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IMO, that's what he is. We are getting ourselves another attacking player to go with Zlatan and Mkhitaryan. A Rooney replacement.
 
Insanity said:
IMO, that's what he is. We are getting ourselves another attacking player to go with Zlatan and Mkhitaryan. A Rooney replacement.
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Which is great news.

Edit - What he does have though, is the skillset to evolve into a midfielder who can command games from a deeper position. Something that Rooney will never do.
 
Pexbo said:
It's a perfectly valid point. Martial cost us a lot of money but we're all fine with that because he's young and going to be great. Pogba is also young and is also going to be great.
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It's the same 2 "valid points" in this thread that get repeated for the last two months, I'm aware of them. I wasn't arguing against any of those, just making a tongue-in-cheek comment, that was also perfectly correct on its own.

Also, it's dangerous to use Martial's transfer to justify every other muppet dream we have, no matter how absurd. But that's another topic.
 
Striker10 said:
In tight games at Old Trafford, Pogba would be useful. He's got a great ability to shift the ball as well as manipulate it. I don't think he's the type to control games because in the final third he's more likely to create something or get on the end of chances. If the ball comes to him, he won't hide from it - but unless we control games in the final third - he won't be controlling games.
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Yea so basically he is a footballer, unlike some lol.

It depends what you like in a midfielder. If you're a fan of the type of role that lead Lampard/Gerrard to score loads of goals, then yes, Pogba is the next evolution in that mould. But that is a 9.5/10.5 role, not really a midfielder as much as someone that lurks and presses between the opposition box and the half way line. I am a huger fan of Naingolan and Verratti because they can set the tempo from deep in our half if necessary. Verratti in particular shows some rather incredible calmness on the ball even when surrounded by opposition players. Kanté is another interesting variation in the same mould.
 
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LonelyFire said:
He can play deeper - he's just not as effective. I see the same in him as i did when first started watching him in the U18s, positional discipline leaves a lot to be desired. His long passing ability is actually very good but no doubt at his best when he is rampaging forward and thats where i would see him in the short terms. As he develops, he will get better and become more accustomed to playing deeper. This guy is as talented as they come.
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Effectiveness is what matters. You can put any footballer anywhere on the field and expect a performance.

His long passing is decent and he doesn't have the positional discipline of a central midfielder, or at least it's doesn't come naturally to him. I believe he'll be no better than Lamps or Stevie were in a deeper role.
 
Drz said:
Yea so basically he is a footballer, unlike some lol.

It depends what you like in a midfielder. If you're a fan of the type of role that lead Lampard/Gerrard to score loads of goals, then yes, Pogba is the next evolution in that mould. But that is a 9.5/10.5 role, not really a midfielder as much as someone that lurks and presses between the opposition box and the half way line. I am a huger fan of Naingolan and Verratti because they can set the tempo from deep in our half if necessary. Verratti in particular shows some rather incredible calmness on the ball even when surrounded by opposition players. Kanté is another interesting variation in the same mould.
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This I agree with.

This signing doesn't preclude the need to add a central midfielder or two.
 
Insanity said:
Effectiveness is what matters. You can put any footballer anywhere on the field and expect a performance.

His long passing is decent and he doesn't have the positional discipline of a central midfielder, or at least it's doesn't come naturally to him. I believe he'll be no better than Lamps or Stevie were in a deeper role.
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If that's the case so be it. We've got a manager who knows the difference between a deep midfielder and an attacking midfielder so I'm not worried about that. He's got a fairly unique skillset and can become a great attacking midfielder. We can worry about him playing deeper in 7 or 8 years and in the mean time worry about him staying at the club.
 
Bored of this tired cliché about 'controlling games' - not every midfielder is Xavi and not every midfielder has to be.

Pogba at 23's a physical monster that can pass, shoot, tackle and win games on his own and has been doing it at top-level for club & country for 4 seasons. What more do you want?
 
Pexbo said:
If that's the case so be it. We've got a manager who knows the difference between a deep midfielder and an attacking midfielder so I'm not worried about that. He's got a fairly unique skillset and can become a great attacking midfielder. We can worry about him playing deeper in 7 or 8 years and in the mean time worry about him staying at the club.
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Worry about him coming first no ?
Drz said:
Yea so basically he is a footballer, unlike some lol.

It depends what you like in a midfielder. If you're a fan of the type of role that lead Lampard/Gerrard to score loads of goals, then yes, Pogba is the next evolution in that mould. But that is a 9.5/10.5 role, not really a midfielder as much as someone that lurks and presses between the opposition box and the half way line. I am a huger fan of Naingolan and Verratti because they can set the tempo from deep in our half if necessary. Verratti in particular shows some rather incredible calmness on the ball even when surrounded by opposition players. Kanté is another interesting variation in the same mould.
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Very good point.
 
Throughout the past few years the value strategy had been dominating our decisions regarding CM. We decided to stick to players who constantly let us down in the hope that they come good (Cleverley and Ando) while squeezing the very last drop of usefulness from the old guard. That pissed off Pogba who left. Then we went on a spending spree for 20-30m rated midfielders (Schneiderlin, Fellaini, Herrera, Blind etc) while hoping that one of them will make the leap from good players to great ones. It didn't work either. Then we threw a pile of cash on a flashy player whose characteristics didn't suit the EPL or LVG's 'philosophy'. Once that didn't work we tried to bring an experienced head that in theory he would have used his experience to make things work. We all know how that ended.

Pogba is overpriced but there again all top players are. However he's young, he's pretty mature and there's no denying that he's got the characteristics to succeed in the EPL. Also unlike the SA players who seem solar powered and will simply switch off in Manchester, he knows what to expect at OT. 100m is a big chunk of money. However when you consider the amount of money we wasted in oversized toilet brushes and in missing out the CL I think its worth the money.
 
kouroux said:
Yeah but I'm sure a more middle ground can be found.
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Not for a club that has ambitions like we do. Maybe the likes of west ham and Southampton can, but we can't afford to pass up on talents like hazard and Pogba simply because we don't want to spend the immense amount of money we already have.

Anyway it's not like we are doing a Perez and buying players manager doesn't want . Mourinho wants Pogba and we are doing whatever it takes. People would criticise United as incompetent and that we aren't competing with the likes of Madrid and Barca if ed chooses not to buy as well. (Not at you but a lot of others do). There is no win here
 
DannyCAFC said:
Bored of this tired cliché about 'controlling games' - not every midfielder is Xavi and not every midfielder has to be.

Pogba at 23's a physical monster that can pass, shoot, tackle and win games on his own and has been doing it at top-level for club & country for 4 seasons. What more do you want?
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I've not seen a massive amount of Pogba in Serie A, but judging by the Juventus posts in other forums, their reports of Pogba is one of much more inconsistency. He certainly hasn't been 'single handedly' been winning games.
 
Mainoldo said:
Well he hasn't been to a world/European tournament and played like Pirlo. So no! Seeing as we are judging Pogba like this.
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He played the WC 2014. He was injured in the last 6 months and was expected to be the playmaker of Italy at the Euro :(
 
I think it's going to be significant if a PL club breaks the transfer record and beats Madrid to a player (and Barca also wanted him recently), especially in the same season all the top managers are coming to the league. We need English clubs to improve in Europe this season. Exciting times for the PL.
 
prath92 said:
Not for a club that has ambitions like we do. Maybe the likes of west ham and Southampton can, but we can't afford to pass up on talents like hazard and Pogba simply because we don't want to spend the immense amount of money we already have.

Anyway it's not like we are doing a Perez and buying players manager doesn't want . Mourinho wants Pogba and we are doing whatever it takes. People would criticise United as incompetent and that we aren't competing with the likes of Madrid and Barca if ed chooses not to buy as well. (Not at you but a lot of others do). There is no win here
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I'm not saying we should pass up on talents like that but first reinforce the team before breaking the bank for someone like Pogba. Hopefully I'm premature in my concern and a few more players will be signed.
 
kouroux said:
Yeah but I'm sure a more middle ground can be found.
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I disagree here, he's a player Zidane wants at Madrid & for too long now that has meant "Madrid will always get their man". The owners & Ed want to change the playing field and let the World & furure potential marquee signings know that United is the place to be, so that we don't miss out on the next Gareth Bale.

Breaking the World record for a player has been in the mandate for a few years now and has so many positive implications from both a sporting and marketing point of view.
 
VP89 said:
I've not seen a massive amount of Pogba in Serie A, but judging by the Juventus posts in other forums, their reports of Pogba is one of much more inconsistency. He certainly hasn't been 'single handedly' been winning games.
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Yeah but in general they probably wouldn't want to sell him - which counts for a lot.
 
Buying back a player we let go for this kind of money doesn't sit well with me but....we have to be agressive in my view.

Mourinho wants us to be agressive on the pitch, the club has to be aggressive in the transfer market. Our spending shouldn't stop at Pogba in my opinion.
 
Regulus Arcturus Black said:
I disagree here, he's a player Zidane wants at Madrid & for too long now that has meant "Madrid will always get their man". The owners & Ed want to change the playing field and let the World & furure potential marquee signings know that United is the place to be, so that we don't miss out on the next Gareth Bale.

Breaking the World record for a player has been in the mandate for a few years now and has so many positive implications from both a sporting and marketing point lf view.
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This. The Bale one has got to hurt. We all know he's a glory hunter but he should be our glory hunter. We have to be seen to get deals done. Else players won't commit to coming because they might feel we won't see it through. The only way to not send out mixed messages is to be consistent so this potential deal is more then spending 100M on a player. This is an attempt to influence the minds of players coming through, who might have their eyes opened to United as a proper club again. So that the next Neymer isn't just thinking of Spain. So that the next Bale, is drawn to United and impressed by the signings the clubs made.
 
So the age old debate - can he play in a midfield 2 or does a 3 suit him more? From the sound of it, it appears as if he is more suited for a midfield 3. For 100mn he should be able to play both roles equally well.

Just don't want more endless debate about "how he'd be much better in a 3 man midfield" or "He's only playing this poorly because he's in a two man midfield" etcetera etcetera.
 
Regulus Arcturus Black said:
We have bought a CB, RW & CF.. and hopefully soon a CAM. Do you want an entire new team in one summer @kouroux ?
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Why not ? Aren't we loaded :lol: ? Didn't our previous shit team bore us to death?

Regulus Arcturus Black said:
I disagree here, he's a player Zidane wants at Madrid & for too long now that has meant "Madrid will always get their man". The owners & Ed want to change the playing field and let the World & furure potential marquee signings know that United is the place to be, so that we don't miss out on the next Gareth Bale.

Breaking the World record for a player has been in the mandate for a few years now and has so many positive implications from both a sporting and marketing point of view.
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I have no doubt about the marketing POV, I just doubt the sporting aspect will come close to it.
 
grahamo said:
What's the point of contracts these days? It seems agents are negotiating the players next contract as soon as one is signed. Why aren't juve suing raiolas arse off. He's clearly in breach of any contract they have with Pogba. Why do clubs allow this to happen?
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Every big club in the world employs such strong armed tactics, throwing money about so they get their man. Juventus have for sure benefitted from this method so when it is done to them they can't really complain. Similarly when Real came knocking for Ronaldo, yes it was a pain in the arse but we would be hypocrites if we were up in arms about the method signing him. It is how football works.
 
Actually his passing is brilliant and close to world class - but his vision and decision making isn't up to the highest standards. Which is why he is so highly rated - you can't improve your technical skills that much at some point, but you develop your vision and other mental skills a lot with experience.

Plus, he is one of the best midfielders in the world in terms of an end product and dribbling.

He isn't using his outstanding physical talents effectively right now, but this, again, is something that can be coached.
 
Drz said:
I am a huger fan of Naingolan and Verratti because they can set the tempo from deep in our half if necessary. Verratti in particular shows some rather incredible calmness on the ball even when surrounded by opposition players. Kanté is another interesting variation in the same mould.
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Nainggolan and Kante setting tempo? You can't be serious!
 
We have to over pay for talents in order to compete for the big tropheys again.

I'd pay for Pogba what it takes but I have doubts about him. He's very good and flashy at times but he is not a 100 mill player by far. To over pay with 15-20 mill. is one thing, to over pay with some 40 mill is another.

It is probably a moot point though because I still don't believe that Pogba will come this summer even though Madrid and Barca being not ready to over pay for him makes it a lot easier for us. The perspective to play in EL next season after losing such a big final won't be particularly alluring for him.
 
How do people still think that the alternative use of this money is to buy 3 or 4 other top players?

Have people just had their fingers in their ears and eyes closed the last few years, refusing to acknowledge the ridiculous inflation in transfer fees? There's talk of Stones going for £50m ffs.

Is £100m a ludicrously excessive amount of money? Yes, of course it is, but that's what it takes to sign this kind of player in 2016. If Madrid were trying to buy a 24 year old Ronaldo off us in this day and age it'd take double what they paid us in 2009, if not more.
 
By the logic being used in here, kante shouldn't be considered, because Deschamps preferred playing Pogba out of position and sissokho in his stead.
 
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