All the blah blah blah is over, and Paul Pogba is officially a Manchester United player. Again. The 23-year-old Frenchman has signed a 4-year deal with the Red Devils, joining for a world-record fee of €110m plus add-ons, but his fee is largely irrelevant. United are getting the world's most marketable player, and a possible future Ballon d'Or winner to boot.
As the third most valuable soccer team in the world, Manchester United have money to burn. Despite not seeing results on the pitch, they've spent freely over the last few years, and their massive worldwide profile and annual revenues allows them to continue on that path. Money's no issue. What they lack(ed) was real a championship-caliber manager and top class players to bring silverware back to Old Trafford. They've got that in Mourinho, Zlatan, Mikhitaryan, and now Paul Pogba.
Paul Pogba's signing is twofold for United. They not only get one of the world's best center-midfielders, still yet to reach his prime, but they now have an marketing cash cow on their hands. United and adidas already leveraged the hype surrounding his transfer with their cleverly timed advertising campaigns leading up to his official announcement, and they'll continue to pump every advertising dollar they can out of the young Frenchman.
On the pitch, it's a bit more complicated. Paul Pogba is a sublimely talented player, capable of functioning in many different roles, but (as Euro 2016 further proved) he operates best on the left side of a midfield three, often struggling when forced to play deeper in a double pivot, or when asked to dictate the pace of the game.
With no true out-and-out defensive midfielder aside from Morgan Schneiderlin, Pogba will likely be asked to sit deeper in Jose Mourinho's preferred 4-2-3-1, as he did in Didier Deschamps' France team. It's a role he's capable of performing in, but it tends to shackle his prodigious talents. To get the best out of Pogba, Mourinho's biggest challenge will be to pair him with a more defensive-minded player who has the discipline to sit in front of the back four allowing Pogba to roam free and be dangerous across the whole pitch.
Grade A:
There's no question about this one. Paul Pogba is a once-in-a-lifetime talent, that Manchester United clearly (rightfully) regret letting go. He's still young, and has a ton of maturation ahead of him, but that's the scary part. He's already world class, and we haven't even seen his final form yet. They're paying a king's ransom to bring him back to the fold, but he's worth every single ducat.
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