Football pundit Gabriele Marcotti has recommended Manchester United avoid a calamity of a situation where Paul Pogba ends up at Real Madrid after the English transfer window shuts.
The deadline to buy players passes on 8th August, but there will still be plenty of time for players to be sold elsewhere – with various European leagues, including Spain’s – closing on 2nd September.
Real Madrid have been linked with a move for Pogba this summer and sources have suggested that the Spanish giants are ‘confident’ about signing the 26-year-old.
Marcotti believes the best course of action for United may well be to play it safe and reinvest before the deadline to avoid going until at least January without being able to sort a replacement.
The Italian felt that while Pogba himself was not looking for an Old Trafford exit, the prospect of the midfielder joining the Spanish giants is not completely out of the question.
He told ESPN FC: “If the opportunity arises and it makes sense for United, I don’t think he’d [Pogba] necessarily turn down an opportunity to join Real Madrid.
“If they’re clever about it, they [United] might want to do some of their business before the transfer window shuts here in England – obviously well before it shuts in Spain – simply because you don’t want to be in a situation where Real Madrid rock up with some insane offer for Pogba that you can’t turn down.”
With United finishing sixth last season, perhaps this is not a time for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to take a chance, with the club in bad enough form at the end of last term – and the Norwegian could be looking over his shoulder if losing the man who contributed 16 goals and 11 assists leads to the boss approaching January with a similar record to the one of predecessor Jose Mourinho before his sacking at Old Trafford.
And pundit Dean Saunders has previously foreseen that scenario should Solskjaer not assemble his squad accordingly – adding to the notion that success for United and their manager could hinge on Pogba’s future.
