Paul Pogba: France star’s time at Manchester United ‘is over’, so where could he go next?

Paul Pogba is definitely leaving Manchester United, according to his agent…despite still having a contract at the club and no obvious offers on the table.

Transfer mania is upon us again, with Mino Raiola jumping the gun ahead of the January window to ensure his client gets the best possible shot of a move away from Old Trafford.

"Paul needs a new team, a change of air. He is under contract for the next 18 months and it will expire in the summer of 2022," Raiola told Tuttosport.

"However, I think that the best solution for both Pogba and Man United is that he goes in the next transfer window. If not, the Old Trafford club know that they risk losing him on a free transfer as it is not Paul's intention to extend his contract."

So where could the Frenchman find a new home? Let’s take a closer look…

It’s a nice idea: one World Cup-winning midfielder guiding another in the ultimate French connection. The lure of teaming up with Zinedine Zidane would surely prove irresistible to Pogba, who has long been heralded as a future Galactico.

But the Zidane link may not exist forever, hence Raiola’s rush to ship Pogba out the Old Trafford exit. Zizou is under immense pressure, with his future likely hinging on Real’s clash with Borussia Moenchengladbach in the Champions League on Wednesday. Only victory will guarantee them a spot in the last 16.

And there’s another issue. The emergence of Rennes sensation Eduardo Camavinga has led some to suggest Real will switch targets and build their midfield around a player nine years Pogba’s junior...

It would be quite a career yo-yo: United, Juventus, United…Juventus. But the fact is Pogba has only enjoyed one brilliant spell in club football and that came in Italy. It was in Serie A that he established himself as one of the world’s top midfielders, so why not return and do it again?

Serie A is a different league to the one he left in 2016, with both Milan clubs reborn – they sit first and second in the table – and Napoli, Roma, Atalanta and Lazio ensuring it is no longer a case of Juventus just turning up to win the title. Plus there’s a new MVP in town: Cristiano Ronaldo. With someone to share the spotlight, Pogba might finally be left to play football. And in Andrea Pirlo, he will have the ideal mentor as he tries to rebuild his career.

Pogba’s future has long been considered a two-horse race between Real and Juve. But there’s a third contender that makes a lot of sense: Paris Saint-Germain. Pogba has already spoken about the “breath of fresh air” he felt when joining up for international duty recently, so why not make the switch to his homeland permanent?

PSG are still chasing that elusive Champions League crown and need a statement signing to keep Kylian Mbappe and Neymar from looking elsewhere. Their reliance on their star duo proved their downfall in the Last Eight final defeat to Bayern Munich, so Pogba could yet prove the missing piece in their European dream.

The problem Pogba has is there’s a disparity between his performances and the hype. How long can he keep the world’s elite interested while he’s playing a bit-part role at United?

United are unlikely to sell cheap in January, given how much they paid in 2016 and that his contract runs for another 18 months. In these uncertain times, is anyone prepared to go big on a 27-year-old who still has much to prove?

Still, if United don’t see him as an integral part of their team, now is the time to cut their losses. They don’t need Raiola to remind them about his plummeting value and surely one of the aforementioned trio will be prepared to stump up good money.