When Mino Raiola took aim at Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on Instagram in February, it felt like that was going to set the tone for press conferences and transfer talk until the end of the season.
After what had been another impressive victory against Chelsea, which further boosted Manchester United’s top-four hopes, the Norwegian was left fending off questions about Paul Pogba’s agent .
“I don’t need to comment through the media on Mino and what he says. I can probably speak to him myself,” Solskjaer said after the 2-0 win.
“You can’t control it anyway, everyone’s got a voice and you can have your own opinion. There are things being said about us where you want to comment but you’d rather not and it’s more clever that you don’t comment on many different things.
“It’s not my rapport, and Paul and Mino do have their conversations, but it’s fine.”
Pogba’s agent has since claimed he has a good relationship with Solskjaer, but had the season not been halted due to Covid-19 it is likely that Raiola would have continued with his statements given his tendencies when attempting to engineer a move for one of his high-profile clients.
Many believed the World Cup winner had played his last game for United after foot and ankle injuries sidelined him for the majority of the campaign. The suspension of all football due to the coronavirus pandemic, however, means that not only will the 27-year-old have a key part to play in the resumption of this Premier League season, but he is likely to stay put for another year.
It is no secret that Pogba is keen for a challenge elsewhere and, in some aspects, who can blame him? United have struggled to mount a serious title challenge since he returned in 2016 and are still facing the prospect of a second consecutive season without Champions League football.
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However, the economic situation following the shutdown means that it is highly unlikely he will get the move he so desperately sought this summer. And the silence from his vocal leader Raiola on the subject over the past few months has been telling.
United would have allowed Pogba to leave last summer had a club met their valuation of around £180 million ($230m). There is an acceptance that they will have to drastically lower that figure should clubs come enquiring when the market does open this summer.
In reality, in a post-Covid world, who would be able to afford the midfielder’s huge wages and transfer fee, which would still be around £100m ($128m)?
Though the club would have permitted Pogba’s exit, there has been a reluctance to let the midfielder go. He has shown glimpses of his world-class talent, but has yet to produce consistently game after game.
Because of that, Pogba’s time at Old Trafford has been heavily criticised, with claims from former players and pundits that he has not lived up to his potential while there have been damning verdicts of his performances away from the pitch, as well as on it.
But circumstances mean United could now have the midfielder at their disposal for the peak years of his career, and Pogba has got the opportunity to prove himself as one of the best midfielders in the world.
Pogba’s former team-mate Ander Herrera believes the Frenchman has the ability, but needs the consistency to be considered world-class.
“I don’t know what other players say but he is a midfielder that has everything. If you see other midfielders in the world, they may have some qualities - control of the ball, long shots, passes, tackles, box-to-box - but Paul can do all of this, plus head the ball, score goals, make recoveries, one against one… everything,” Herrera told The Athletic.
“But of course, if you want to become the best midfielder in the world, it is about consistency. You have to do it day in, day out. He is a good guy. He wants to do it. He does train well. He has to do it every day.”
And the changes to Solskjaer’s team could allow him to do that.
The arrival of Bruno Fernandes in January and United's subsequent revival should give Pogba the freedom he has been lacking at times while also releasing some of the burden that has been placed on him to be United’s star man. For too long there has been expectancy and pressure on the midfielder to save the team, but Fernandes has come in and changed that.
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Mentally the midfielder will need to accept the reality of at least another season at Old Trafford, and his behaviour and levels in training since the team have returned in the past few weeks cannot be questioned. He has impressed his team-mates, and Solskjaer is hopeful he will be fit for the game against Tottenham on June 19.
Pogba will no doubt get the move he wants at some point in the future ,but for now the pandemic has given him a second chance to choose the ending to his time at Old Trafford. It is over to him to write the narrative.
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