Paul Pogba‘s move to Juventus has been a dismal affair so far for the Frenchman with his season wrecked by an injury which also saw him miss out on the World Cup.
He suffered a setback earlier in the month which led to huge frustration at Juventus, but it appears he is turning a corner.
Pogba last night made his second Juventus debut, playing his first game since re-signing for the club he left in 2016, having been released by Manchester United last summer.
The midfielder was a 68th minute substitute in Juventus’ 4-2 win over Turin rivals Torino, coming on when the scores were tied at 2-2.
Manchester United stars welcome Pogba back
Why mention yesterday’s man Paul Pogba at all? Well, this is (a) a newsworthy event that he has finally played his first competitive game since limping off at Anfield last April after 10 minutes, and (b) it’s a development Manchester United’s players clearly seem to care about.
For all the frustration among fans about Pogba’s inconsistent performances, he was always spoken highly of by his teammates, if not always his managers.
Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford, Harry Maguire and Anthony Elanga were among the stars to reach out to Pogba on Instagram, along with his former dance partner Jesse Lingard.
Pogba completed five of 10 passes in his cameo appearance, seeing his one shot blocked. It will take some time for him to get up to speed. Just getting onto the pitch was a major success, especially in a game in which Juventus won.
Nobody would have thought Manchester United would win a trophy before Paul Pogba made a single appearance for his new club at the start of the season, but that’s where we are at, just about.
Going back to our earlier question of why this is noteworthy (c) there is still a possibility of a Paul Pogba and Manchester United reunion in the Europa League this season.
Both teams are in the last 16 and could be drawn against each other in the quarter-finals if both teams progress.
Juventus face German side Freiburg while United tackle Real Betis. It would be a quite a story to see United take on Pogba for a trophy, and it’s not a prospect the Red Devils should fear, given the Italian side’s poor form this season which sees them sit a lowly seventh in Serie A.
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