The way Manchester United are playing at the moment has fans believing again of a glorious future.
The positivity could all be ripped away if Paul Pogba decides he does not want to renew his contract, and starts pushing for a transfer away from the club (again?).
So United need to take steps to convince him to sign a new deal. His current contract expires in 2021, although United can trigger an extension to roll it over to 2022.
A now confirmed agreement to keep Nemanja Matic around until 2023 should help.
Matic lets Pogba play
Pogba is currently thriving as part of a three-man midfield with Matic and Bruno Fernandes.
It is a perfectly balanced trio of defence and attack, and Pogba has total freedom to express himself.
Fernandes is already under contract until 2025, with an option to roll it over for a further year. He isn’t going anywhere.
Now with Matic’s deal which ran until 2021 now reportedly extended to 2023, Pogba can believe that this is a long-term project he can invest in.
Pogba is a big fan of his Serbian teammate. Here is a look at what he said about him shortly after he signed in 2017.
The Frenchman told The Sun: “I am mostly an offensive player and I think more about attacking. But he [Matic] will be more defending.
“We can switch, but we match a lot and in those two games, I have been more forward and he has stayed back.
“That helps me more be myself. I still do the defensive part, but now I can go forward more and help the strikers. I like to be in front of the goals too. He helps me and I enjoy it, yes.”
‘I enjoy it’
This really is the key line from Pogba. It is still reflected in his football three years on when he plays alongside Matic.
Pogba looks happy on and off the pitch at United right now. This is the perfect time to put a new contract in front of him and ask him to renew his deal.
The Matic contract has to help his decision. It certainly does not hurt United’s cause.
If his teammate’s previously expiring deal in 2021 was a question mark for Pogba over whether this currently high-performing midfield trio has a future, United’s reported decision to extend, could help convince the club’s record signing.
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