Report: Juventus still one of main contenders to sign Paul Pogba

For weeks now we’ve been under the assumption that Juventus will be looking to add somebody of note to their much-maligned midfield come the summertime.

Just who that might be obviously remains to be seen, but the names are very much other there for speculation to be had.

One of those names still very much in the running appears to be a name we’re already very familiar with — soon-to-be former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba, who is set to leave the club after what has been a historically bad season for everybody involved at Old Trafford. According to David Ornstein of The Athletic, Pogba’s most likely destinations as to where he will be playing his football next season is down to a handful of teams, including Juventus, which will surely be seeing midfielders both come and go this summer.

“Former club Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid are thought to be the most likely destinations at present, although a final decision is yet to be made,” reports Ornstein.

There would certainly be a lot of attention that comes with Pogba doing his second version of #PogBack and re-signing with Juventus. But Pogba is not the hotshot up-and-comer he was when he left Juventus in the summer of 2016. (Yes, it has been that long. We’re all getting old and that’s something you’re just going to have to deal with and accept at some point.) Pogba is now 29 and has dealt with a wrath of injuries over the last couple of years. His tenure with United has been rather eventful — especially the last few years — and has one goal and nine assists to his name in 20 Premier League appearances this season.

But what would a return to Juventus mean?

Well, he would likely be one of the highest paid players right away because that’s just what happens when you’re a big-name player like Pogba and are coming off making Premier League wages for the better part of the last decade. There hasn’t exactly been rumored figures thrown around and obviously the passing of Mino Raiola might throw a wrench into things at the moment, but Pogba would surely be making a whole lot more than he did the first time he called Turin home if he were to come back to Juventus.

One has to wonder where that would fall into Juve’s reported desire to get younger and less bloated wage-wise this summer. Remember, they’ve chose to not renew Paulo Dybala for a reason or two, and bringing Pogba in this summer on a salary that is likely to be around — if not more — what La Joya wasking asking for (and expecting) might go against all of that.