Carlton Palmer has insisted Paul Pogba will not spend the rest of his career at Manchester United despite Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s initial protestations.
Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast correspondent Tom Ward, the former England international claims there may even come a point where Solskjaer is forced to sell his prized asset.
Reports in recent times revealed that United triggered a one-year option in his contract that will keep him at Old Trafford until 2022 and Solskjaer had been hopeful that Pogba would sign a new contract extension in the summer amid links abroad.
However, since then there have been no reports confirming the news, which has cast doubts over his future at the club.
Palmer believes Solskjaer will most likely sell Pogba simply because he has too many options to choose from in the midfield.
He told FFC:
“Why haven’t they got the best out of Pogba? Solskjaer hasn’t set the team up to get the best out of him.
“How come every time he goes and plays for France, he’s outstanding? Because the team’s set up to enable him to do what he does, which allows him to play football, he needs the freedom of the park. With somebody like Kante, he can have the freedom of the pitch, and they’ve still got all of the flair players in the side, like Griezmann, Mbappe and Martial, but he can’t get it to work at United.
“Why? Well, first of all they haven’t got a back four that can defend properly. I think Pogba and Matic could work together, but I think Matic’s legs are going a little bit, so you need someone who is a bit more mobile, like Donny van de Beek.
“Give Pogba the freedom to go and play, tell him ‘at the end of the day, your job is to make things happen for this football team. I’m sure that’s what Didier says to him in the French team – he drops off, he plays lovely sublime balls, he gets forward, he gets crosses in and he scores goals.
“So why is he not doing it at United? Because the team’s not set up right for Pogba to do so.
“So, he’ll probably sell Pogba, because he’s brought in too many other players like McTominay, Van de Beek, to play in the same position.”
Pogba has been an integral part of the side in recent seasons, having featured 35 times in the 2018-19 campaign as Solskjaer’s side finished sixth in the Premier League after the turbulent departure of former manager Jose Mourinho.
However, an injury-stricken season coupled with the arrival of Portuguese magnifico Bruno Fernandes from Sporting Libson in January has seen his playing time limited in recent months, as he has made just seven appearances in the Premier League this season.
The Red Devils have endured an inconsistent run of form, as they have lost three and drawn one of their nine games in the top flight so far this season.
In 12 appearances this season, Pogba has scored one goal and supplied two assists in all competitions, which is a pretty decent return, especially when you consider the fact he has made an appearance as a substitute from the bench seven times so far.
With the winter transfer market set to open in just under a month’s time, there’s no doubt that the rumours linking him elsewhere will start to circle once again.
AND in other news, Forget Fred: Manchester United magnifico Bruno Fernandes seriously let Solskjaer down vs PSG…