Darren Bent has claimed that despite Paul Pogba not reaching his full potential at Manchester United, there will still be Liverpool players that would want the Frenchman to swap Old Trafford for Anfield.
The World Cup winner is set to leave the Red Devils on a free transfer at the end of the month but it’s not yet clear where he is heading – a return to former club Juventus is reportedly on the cards.
So as transfer talk surrounding the Frenchman intensifies, former Premier League striker Bent believes there will be players in the Premier League that will want the 29-year-old to join their side.
“When you look at his stats for Manchester United, they’re not that bad,” Bent told talkSPORT (via Football 365). “That’s not horrible stats, they’re okay.
“For someone with that much quality, the most frustrating thing is when you see him put on that France shirt, you just want that level of performance for United.
“He’s playing in a good team for France, a better team. I know he hasn’t been good enough [for United] but he is a good player. He hasn’t been a success but he has won two trophies there.
“It hasn’t worked and they’ve paid a lot of money for a footballer who’s now leaving for nothing.
The central midfielder does have ability, he just hasn’t showed it constantly at Old Trafford.
Whenever he’s representing his national side France, he performs well and was one of their standout performers when they won the World Cup in 2018.
It does beg the question, if he was to be placed in a better side under a better manager, how would he perform?
Bent certainly thinks Chelsea and Liverpool players would welcome Pogba to the club.
“I don’t know if Chelsea fans will want him to join but I wonder if some of the players would. Footballers will think differently to fans,” he said.
“There will be a real admiration for Paul Pogba amongst other players in the Premier League, from the players who have played against him.
“I think other players, players in the Chelsea squad, will think ‘I would love a player like that to come here’. Fans will see it differently and say ‘he doesn’t work hard enough, it didn’t work at United, why would we want him?’
“But players think differently. It will be the same with Liverpool. Fans might think he wouldn’t suit the system, but I bet there’s Liverpool players who would want him.”
Pogba will probably head abroad now his contract at United has expired – the slower pace of the Italian league, for example, may suit his style of play and he may once again return to his best in Turin.
We do need to strengthen our midfield options, but we don’t reckon the United man will be one of the names on our list of transfer targets this summer.
#Ep53 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: The Paris debacle, reviewing Liverpool’s season… & more!