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Outspoken agent hints at Pogba transfer ‘dream’ amid Man Utd warning

Mino Raiola has provided another cryptic update about the chances of Paul Pogba leaving Manchester United to return to Juventus.

Pogba’s contract situation continues to be a cause of concern for Man Utd. His deal runs out at the end of the season, when they could lose him for free for the second time in his career.

While Pogba has often divided opinion at Old Trafford, it would certainly be a waste to lose a player of his talent for nothing. However, agent Raiola has previously hinted that the Frenchman will not be signing a new contract in Manchester.

His performances on the pitch amid those outbursts have been good in context. But Pogba is currently out with an injury until the New Year. Some have predicted he may have already played his last game for the club.

United may make the decision to net a small windfall by selling him in January. Alternatively, they could keep him until the end of his contract but freeze him out.

Whenever the time comes to leave, only a few clubs would be able to afford Pogba. Among his prime suitors will be Juventus, who previously enjoyed his talents between 2012 and 2016.

Raiola has now responded to questions about the prospect of his client returning to Turin.

He told Tuttomercatoweb: “Dreaming is free. I don’t forbid anyone to dream. It’s good. Then let’s see if they come true.

“December is the month for dreaming with Christmas and the holidays. It’s still too early. Let’s see what happens.

“We don’t know why, but when we talk about Pogba in England, even the dead wake up. Some former Manchester United players, if they don’t talk about Pogba and me, they don’t talk about anything. So it’s better not to talk about it.”

Pogba has played in a total of 219 matches for Man Utd across his career. He has provided 38 goals and 49 assists in that time.

During his past stint with Juventus, he contributed 34 goals and 40 assists from 178 appearances.

There has often been a feeling that United have failed to get the best out of the 2018 World Cup winner. His form for France, and previously with Juventus, has been more effective in general.

But there would surely still be a hint of regret for the Red Devils if Pogba was to leave. On the flipside, keeping him could cost a fortune in terms of his wages.

Pogba compared to Man Utd mistake

Meanwhile, as Raiola would perhaps take issue with, Pogba has been the subject of some interesting comments from pundits.

Micah Richards and Alan Shearer have compared Pogba’s spell with United to that of former flop Juan Sebastian Veron.

“I just remember him [Veron] being a flash in the pan,” Richards told the Match of the Day Top 10 podcast. “Before he came to Man United you expected big things.

“He’s like Pogba, Pogba’s stayed longer but when you watch Pogba, you want him to do something brilliant every time and the same with Veron as well you wanted him to score a 40-yard goal or [make a] 60-yard pass.

“It was just a little bit fast for him. He wanted to slow down the tempo a little bit. This is what I don’t understand, people always ask me, why did it not always happen?

“You’ve got that ability, he worked hard, it’s consistency. His ability was off the scale, wasn’t it, it’s one thing I’ve wondered. By all accounts, he worked really hard, was a good lad, it just didn’t work out.”

Shearer concurred with Richards’ assessment, adding: “I definitely agree with the Pogba comparison.

“I think everyone looked at Veron and thought ‘wow, what a player,’ £28m which was a lot of money then and everyone was expecting that of him every week. Ability-wise it was in there.”

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