The new phase of French midfielder Paul Pogba’s career began as Juventus announced the player’s signing. He has come to the Old Lady from Manchester United as a free agent for the second time.
Financial and extravagance are perhaps two constants in the career of the bright midfielder. Pogba first appeared in the United line-up for the English Premier League in the 2011/2012 season but left for Juventus Turin after the season ended with a scandal.
He first played for the Italian grandee when he was 19 and immediately joined the team’s core under Antonio Conte. The Turin side extended their winning streak to two seasons, with Paul scoring five goals in 27 Serie A games.
The following year, Juventus not only won the Serie A but also advanced to the semifinals of the Europa League. However, Juventus and Pogba started to shine after Massimiliano Allegri’s arrival.
The new boss brought Juve a more non-systematic game, with moments of aggravation through the wings in which the midfield set the direction of the attack. The French player’s playing qualities took on a new dimension in such a paradigm. Paul had an outstanding season, after which Manchester United agreed to pay the Italian outfit €105 million to bring back their player.
The 2015/2016 season for the French midfielder remains the second most productive of his career, with 13 goals and nine assists in 35 games in the Italian Serie A, averaging 86 minutes on the pitch per game. Pogba has made the difference in Juve’s midfield, along with Arturo Vidal, Andrea Pirlo and Claudio Marchisio.
At Manchester United, Pogba has earned the status of the mood player. After Ole Gunnar Solskjær joined the club during the 2018/2019 season, the Frenchman became enthusiastic again and scored 22 points (13 goals + 9 assists) in 35 EPL games. But he couldn’t do more.
Pogba’s return to Allegri looks even more inspiring because the 29-year-old midfielder is familiar with the Italian specialist’s approach, which will avoid the misunderstandings and scandals that happened with Mourinho. Juventus fans will be more favorable to him. In addition, the start of the season will be the most successful – the World Cup is approaching, and Pogba perfectly sets himself up for short runs.
Ideally, the arrival of Di Maria and Pogba will be the missing pieces of the puzzle that will make it possible to compete for the top 3 again. Allegri will still need to establish teamwork, so it will take time to get into shape. But keeping those players and adding variation will produce a quality title contender. A renewed Juventus game will be played for the first time on August 14 when the Bianconeri meet Sassuolo in the first leg of Serie A.
