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For some odd reason, we've been hearing a lot of Paul Pogba rumors lately. Okay, so maybe it isn't so random. They're basically post-Andrea Agnelli comments-related and the press is doing what we'd expect them to do — speculate the freaking hell out of it. It's predictable, sure, but it's becoming an annoyance that is starting to rival those of Fernando Llorente leaving Turin after waiting so long to actually play for Juventus.
In case you just so happened to miss it, these comments...
"Italy's no longer a final destination, but it's a transit destination," Agnelli said at the Leaders in Football Conference in London. "I'm trying to think of what will be of us in two or three years' time if we get a massive offer for one of the best talents we've got today, Pogba, the French 20-year-old. Will we be able to retain him? I don't know. I don't think, at the moment, we have the strength to retain such a player."
(Source: ESPNFC)
...caused these rumors to catch on like a wildfire in dry, 100-degree weather with a whole lot of wind behind it.
But there's just one thing, you guys.
Sky: It won't be bad to play for PSG.. Pogba "I don't know, I'm happy at Juve, we haven't talked about the contract or anything else yet."
— Tarek Khatib (@ADP1113) October 12, 2013
Amongst all the talking, frantic twittering about potentially selling Pogba down the road and all the over-analysis of what Agnelli's words did or did not mean, people tend to forget about the actual player's preference. Pogba came to Turin to get the chance to play and that's exactly what's happened. He's gone from being considered a piece for the future to now being a piece of the present.
There's just a couple of minor details in all this Pogba talk: 1) Along with Arturo Vidal, Beppe Marotta said that the 20-year-old French midfielder is working on the details and is almost certainly signing a nice new contract at the club in the near future and 2) Pogba is genuinely happy where he currently is.
Ah, facts. What a nice reality check.
But let's just throw all of that out of the window, okay? Let's just continue to talk about how Pogba will leave Juventus, not how he's about to extend his stay (and get a much-deserved raise at the same time).
I guess this is Reason No. 24,567 why international breaks are stupid. And so are baseless transfer rumors that occur during said international breaks when we have nothing productive to actually talk about.