It’s official: Pogba is Man Utd’s problem until the end of the season
Robin Bairner
- 20 Nov 2021 09:13 GMT
- 5 min read
Paul Pogba will be Manchester United’s problem until the end of the season, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s latest injury update on the player indicating that moving him on in January will be impossible.
Pogba is out of contract in June 2022, at which point he will become a free agent.
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No deal has been agreed with Man Utd over a new contract, nor does one look to be on the horizon as the likes of Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus circle over the possibility of picking up the midfielder on a free transfer.
There had been a mooted suggestion that Pogba might leave during the January window in a last-ditch effort from Man Utd to raise some money from a player they signed for a world-record fee of €105 million (£89m) in 2016.
Those hopes, though, are over.
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Pogba facing three months out
Solskjaer confirmed on Friday that Pogba could miss out for up to three months in the worst-case scenario, and while the Norwegian was himself hopeful that he might be back in action far sooner than that, Ole is noted for his wildly optimistic outlook at times.
"It was a disappointing injury for Paul, a disappointing time for him of course,” Solskjaer said of the issue, which was picked up during a shooting drill with France.
The worst-case scenario is 10, 11, 12 weeks with muscle injuries like this
- Ole Gunnar Solskjaer"I’m not a doctor of course but he can’t say how quickly it will heal. Sometimes you hope, fingers crossed, for six or seven weeks and the worst-case scenario is 10, 11, 12 weeks with muscle injuries like this.
"One thing I’m sure of is that Paul is determined to come back and give his best when he comes back and he’s already started that recovery with his own big mentality to come back stronger because Paul always has that personality to come back strong.
"Hopefully just after Christmas we can see him."
Even an absence of around two months would see Pogba laid up until the end of the January transfer window, during which time no club is going to take a punt on an injured player who is available for free barely weeks later.
Man Utd, then, have blow it with Pogba. Either a new deal is agreed at premium wages or he walks away to Real Madrid, PSG or Juventus for nothing at all.
