Opinion: Pogba may have been right after all

The thing about the Paul Pogba story is that barely anyone in the whole world knows the truth. All of our suspicions and opinions are based on surmises and guesses. But that’s what football fans do all the time isn’t it? Surmise and guess. So here’s some surmising and guessing on the Paul Pogba story, because maybe, just maybe, he was kind of right after all.

The move to Juventus in the summer has certainly been a positive one for the youngster so far. Reportedly he is already valued at 15 million pounds. That’s 15 million pounds more than he was a few months ago. To be asserting yourself in the Italian champions’ midfield alongside the likes of Andrea Pirlo, Claudio Marchisio, and Arturo Vidal is certainly impressive at least.

Based on his current sparkling form ‘the Pog’, as he’s affectionately known by no-one, could have been a hit at Old Trafford.  As it is though, a lack of game time given to him by Sir Alex Ferguson appears to have been the proverbial nail in his Manchester United coffin.

The thing is though, why wasn’t Pogba included in United’s first team more? Yes, Michael Carrick was an ever-present in the starting eleven last year, but what else was stopping the Frenchman? Tom Cleverley, Anderson, and Darren Fletcher were all sidelined with long-term injuries. None of Phil Jones, Ryan Giggs, or Ji-Sung Park is a natural central midfielder. Even the ageing Paul Scholes was dragged out of retirement ahead of giving his younger namesake a chance. The most Pogba ever got were a couple of mere substitute appearances.

Maybe Pogba was just considered too young. This is a fragile argument though. He’s very similar in age to Phil Jones, a player who not only racked up an incredible amount of first-team appearances, but was also played regularly outside of his most natural position. Trust Jones, but not Pogba? Seems odd.

Another argument was that Sir Alex Ferguson didn’t want to play the Frenchman until he signed a new contract. Fair enough, but it became bit of a catch 22 situation. Ferguson wouldn’t play him until he signed, Pogba wouldn’t sign until he played.

In hindsight (oh what a wonderful thing), the French prodigy should’ve, or at least could've, played more. Why shouldn’t he have been picked ahead of Rafael da Silva in midfield against Blackburn on a miserable New Years Eve? Why should a similarly aged Phil Jones be trusted with so many appearances, but Pogba so little? Why drag an old man out of retirement when there’s a young player ready and waiting?

It would be foolish to overly criticise the Manchester United management over Pogba’s departure; they weren’t to be held to ransom by agents and contract demands, and were trying to develop a young player at their own pace. But at the same time, Pogba’s reasoning is sound. If you’re not getting games when you justifiably could, and the Italian champions come calling…well, you work it out.

Should Pogba have given it another year at United? Probably. Would I have joined Juventus in his situation? Probably. Is he an idiot for leaving United? Obviously. But maybe, for now, his move to Juventus was the right thing to do.