Ranking the Premier League clubs who could sign Pogba
Martin Macdonald
- Updated: 17 Feb 2022 09:31 CST
- 4 min read
Manchester United face losing their most expensive ever player for free this summer if Paul Pogba runs down his contract.
In the summer of 2016, the Red Devils broke the world transfer record to bring the Frenchman back to Old Trafford from Juventus for €105 million after he previously featured for the club at youth level.
The transfer was meant to be a transformative one for United, who were looking to reclaim their status as an elite team on the pitch - a status that had eluded them since the days of Sir Alex Ferguson.
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Though Pogba has displayed occasional moments of brilliance has sometimes been targeted as a scapegoat for the club's failures, the entire transfer has been underwhelming.
Though Man Utd would ideally not like to lose Pogba, especially for free, there seems to be a resignation that he will leave as a free agent.
According to the Telegraph, the World Cup winner is open to the idea of signing for another Premier League side.
Here, we rank the contenders to sign Pogba from least likely to most likely.
Liverpool
Liverpool have been mentioned as a destination for Pogba only because of their status as one of the top teams in the league, as the Reds will likely have no desire to sign Pogba this summer.
Jurgen Klopp demands a lot from his midfielders for them to play in a dynamic style, and though Pogba has plenty of talents, energetic displays in the middle of the park are not in his repertoire.
Liverpool are also well-stocked in central midfield with Fabinho, Thiago, Jordan Henderson, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Manchester City
It is not outwith the realms of possibility that Pogba could end up at the Etihad, but it seems very unlikely.
If Pep Guardiola fancies taking on Pogba as a project to see if he can be the manager to finally unlock the Frenchman's talents, then we could see an alliance.
Furthermore, City will need a replacement for Fernandinho in the summer and signing Pogba for free to do that isn't an awful idea.
Arsenal
Arsenal have managed to get rid of a prima-donna of sorts in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the January transfer window, so they will be wary about taking on another in Pogba.
However, the club are in desperate, desperate need for reinforcements in central midfield.
The Gunners will be keen to avoid throwing money at another underperforming player, but what will soften that potential blow is that Pogba will arrive for free, albeit for a significant signing-on fee.
Pogba might like the idea of becoming the main man at Arsenal.
Newcastle
If there is one team in world football who don't need to worry about how much money they pay their players, it is now Newcastle.
The Magpies are now the richest club on earth after the Saudi takeover and have been linked with numerous superstars.
They have to secure their Premier League status first, but Pogba could be signed in the summer as one of the faces of the club's Saudi revolution.
If it is wages Pogba is worried about, he can pretty much ask for what he wants from Newcastle.
Chelsea
At the moment, the most likely club to reach an agreement with Pogba is Chelsea.
Even though the Blues have talented midfielders at the moment with the likes of N'Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho in their ranks, they will be looking for another this summer.
Kante or Jorginho could leave, while Saul Niguez and Ruben Loftus-Cheek have proved not up to the challenge.
This would certainly be a very attractive proposition for the player, too, as he gets to move to London, gets a huge pay packet and also still gets to play in the Champions League.
Declan Rice remains their number one target, however.
