‘Chelsea or Liverpool would love Pogba’ – The transfer window’s craziest claim so far?
FT Desk
- 3 Jun 2022 20:00 BST
- 3 min read
A claim for the summer transfer window’s most ridiculous statement has been made early by former England international Darren Bent, who says that Chelsea or Liverpool “would love” to see their club sign Paul Pogba from Manchester United.
France international Pogba is destined to become a free agent on 1 July, when his contract at Old Trafford expires, though he appears set to move to Juventus, where he played from 2012-2016.
There has been a notable lack of interest in a player who was once the most expensive in the world, though Bent claims that stars at Stamford Bridge or Anfield would love to have Pogba alongside them.
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“I don’t know if Chelsea fans will want him to join but I wonder if some of the players would. Footballers will think differently to fans,” he claimed on TalkSport.
“There will be a real admiration for Paul Pogba amongst other players in the Premier League, from the players who have played against him.
“I think other players, players in the Chelsea squad, will think: ‘I would love a player like that to come here.’
“Fans will see it differently and say: ‘He doesn’t work hard enough, it didn’t work at United, why would we want him?”
Pogba would be a Chelsea or Liverpool misfit
While it’s certainly true that supporters will question Pogba’s attitude, it is difficult to see him slotting into a team like Liverpool, where the onus is on each individual working for the unit. Even when Pogba shines for France, he does so with harder working players like N’Golo Kante alongside him.
Certainly, Kante, who has never lost a match he has started beside Pogba, might be more tempted to welcome his France colleague to Stamford Bridge, but it is difficult to imagine the Man Utd midfielder having an easy relationship with Thomas Tuchel, who is another the team ethic is strong for.
Pogba, after all, is a player who needs a team built around him. At Juventus he may find that, but he did not at Manchester United and he certainly would not at Liverpool or Chelsea. He’ll be better off in Turin.
