The 'Pogba case' takes a turn

To call the relationship between Paul Pogba and Manchester United complicated in recent years is an understatement. However, when it seemed that the wall between club and player was definitely taking shape, statements by Mino Raiola through, the midfielder grabbed the skillet by the handle and spoke on and off the field. On the field of play responding to the confidence of a Solskjaer who seemed to ignore the agent's comments and out of it to show his commitment to the club. Another Pogba was possible and if there is anyone who deserves credit, besides the footballer, it is Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, as Gary Neville has recently recognized.

The former Manchester United player was very tough, like many other analysts, with Pogba when Raiola dropped the bomb and now, in a column in the 'Daily Mail', he sings a kind of mea culpa in which he also congratulates a Solskjaer who not long ago had the sword of Damocles on his head. “It's not acceptable (the way that Raiola did things). But I have to say that Paul doesn't. He doesn't say he wants to leave. I have to admit that the way we handled (the analysts) Pogba's situation with Raiola a few weeks ago was emotional, because we see it from the outside. The way Ole handled Raiola's comments was exceptional, really “.

Solskjaer's credit

Until the dialectical explosion, Pogba had lost step in the team and players, a priori, with less weight in the team's schemeLike Mata, they passed him on the right. The agent's words came when both his client and the club were below. But Solskjaer was not carried away by any instinct and showed that he had enough left hand to win back the midfielder for his cause, as Neville explains: “I knew I was going to have Paul, at least, until the end of the season. He cooled things down and now he has him performing at a great level. He handled the situation really well. Ole deserves real credit for the way he has handled the 'Pogba case' the last two months. “.

Similar influence to Bruno Fernandes

And if now the titles follow one another and the results arrive in the form of victories, to the point of rising to the first place in the Premier League with a goal from our protagonist, Neville goes further and compare the influence of the world champion with Bruno Fernandes, the club's flagship player at the moment. “In recent weeks there is no doubt that Pogba is starting to have a similar influence on the game as Fernandes. He is starting to look like the player Pogba can become.”

This Sunday's game at Anfield against Liverpool (0-0) has served not only to verify that the Red Devils are true candidates to win the championship, but has served as a litmus test for a Pogba who has emerged triumphant from the match and has completed the 90 minutes once more. While it is true that he had the winning goal in his boots in a point-blank shot that he chose to hit rather than place, making Alisson's work easier, his defensive work and effort were rewarded by his coach once again, who opted for changing Bruno in '87 instead of him. The key to Neville ?: “He has simplified his game and shows greater discipline”. The player's contract is still counting down, but it remains to be seen if this sudden twist does not change the intentions that Mino Raiola so clearly shared. December's relationship breakup is in the process of healing.