Manchester United: Is Paul Pogba really irreplaceable?

Do Manchester United still need Paul Pogba?

With Manchester signing Donny Van De Beek, it’s time to ask that age-old question. Do Manchester United really need Paul Pogba? There is no doubt that on his day he is world-class. He is, after all, a World Cup winner and during his time with Juventus has demonstrated why Manchester United paid a then world-record fee for him. Yet, with Donny Van De Beek joining Manchester United, the need for Pogba to remain at Old Trafford ever so slightly diminishes.

Let’s be clear Paul Pogba does not want to stay at Manchester United and play at Old Trafford next season. He insists that he does. In fact, he has said that he wants to sign a new contract at United but the truth is Pogba really only wants to stay at United because of the current financial situations of clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona means that he will not get the move he wants.

Meanwhile, PSG has seemingly moved on from Pogba to his fellow Frenchmen Eduardo Camavinga. To put it simply, Pogba has to stay at Manchester United with his massive salary or take a punt at a club where there is a very real chance that he won’t receive the same salary, especially in the current financial circumstances.

More from Manchester United

Tactically, it seems hard to play Van De Beek in a deep-lying role alongside Pogba, with Fernandes ahead as an attacking midfielder. It seems like a dream midfield and certainly, Solskajer believes that Van Der Beek has the tactical nous, as well as the ability to play a bit deeper and then make late runs into the box like a prime Frank Lampard, did at Chelsea.

I’m not as certain that complements Pogba in central midfield, I personally believe we need a Wilfried Ndidi type player to stay back and break up play, Fred or Matic can do that role to a certain degree but in my opinion, Pogba and Van De Beek are too similar a player to complement each other. That means the only option would be to sacrifice either Pogba and Van De Beek which seems highly unreasonable as both players will want to play week in and week out and that is to be expected after all both are top players.

The other alternative is to play a 4-3-3 with Matic or Fred as the pivot and Pogba and Van De Beek filling the other two midfield positions. However, that obviously means Bruno Fernandes does not play and let’s be honest that is not going to happen anytime soon if Bruno is fit and not suspended, he is the first name on the team sheet.

Whilst, I sincerely hope that Paul Pogba, Donny Van De Beek and Bruno Fernandes can somehow be integrated into the team at the same time, for the sake of balance either Pogba or Van De Beek will be left out. And while I think Paul Pogba is a supreme footballer, time and time again he has shown glimpses of his potential and then he’s either injured or there is uncertainty over his future which is usually started by his agent, Mino Raiola.

So, for all parties involved, I think it’s time for Pogba to depart Manchester United again. Of course, Manchester United should try to recoup as much as possible the transfer fee they paid for Pogba but it seems futile to believe that Pogba will come good for Manchester United. With the money that could be recouped if Pogba was to leave Manchester United, United can build depth in midfield, get a decent striker and a dependable centre-back to build a title-winning squad. That could be Pogba’s everlasting and best contribution to Manchester United.

Next. 3 players Manchester United must sign this summer. dark

What do you make of Paul Pogba at Manchester United?

Home/Manchester United