Last summer (2016) Paul Pogba rejoined Manchester United for a world record fee of 89.3 million pounds sterling. But the main question to ask is, has he been worth the money and a success this season? Let us investigate.
The history
Before we proceed let us examine what happened. As reported in the Express newspaper, in 2012 the then 18-year old midfielder left Manchester United to join Juventus for a fee of only 800,000 pounds sterling. According to the then United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, Pogba was sold due to his agent (Mino Raiola) "destroying the relationship between player and club".
Over the course of the following four years at the Italian club, Pogba developed into one of the best players in the world and thus one of the most "sought after players". This was recognised by the player himself who, as reported on Sky Sports, stated that Juventus "played a crucial role in making me the player I am today". It was due to this immense progress and development which persuaded the United manager Jose Mourinho to bring the player back to the club for the world record fee. This return was certainly approved of by the player himself. Despite his success in Italy, he viewed the Old Trafford club as his "house".
The ways in which it has not been
However, the most crucial question to ask is, has he been a success and worth the money this season?
Many believe that he has not been and that he has not lived up to his expensive Price Tag. When arriving manager Mourinho designated Pogba to be the "final piece of the Manchester United puzzle", as reported in the Daily Mail newspaper. However, he has been anything but. He has drifted through games, he has been careless in possession and simply does not do enough for the team.
That is not acceptable for the world's most expensive signing. As reported on the Fotmob website, in the Premier League this season, Pogba only has four goals and three assists to his name. Furthermore, what is also indicative of his current form is the outpouring of compliments about how Pogba will become a true force of greatness next season.
This was echoed by Mourinho himself, who stated that they will not see the best of Pogba "until next season" as reported in the Telegraph newspaper. Mourinho also stated that "next season for Paul will be top". Although nice words of praise, they only add up to the fact that this season has been something of a letdown for the Frenchman.
The reasons why it has
However, there are those on the other hand who believe that Pogba has been a success this season and has been worth the money paid for him. This was demonstrated by Ian Watson at TeamTalk, who stated that Pogba is beginning to show his "growing influence" in games. In the game against Crystal Palace at the end of 2016 Pogba was voted 'player of the week' by whoscored dot com.
It is the reason (his form) that paved the way for results to turn in Manchester United's favour. There are also statistics that back up the argument being made. The Daily Mirror newspaper reported that there is one area where Pogba is outperforming all other central midfielders in the best European leagues this season. It is that out of everyone, Pogba has played the "greatest number of successful passes in the final third".
Overall
It is clear that it has been a difficult restart to his Manchester United career this season. And although he may be daunted by the large price tag, he is starting to show some form which illustrated why he was purchased in the first place. It is true that he does have to do more and I think he is well aware of that. It may take time but he will get there and that can be only good for the beautiful game.
