Nicky Butt claims he had a meeting with Ed Woodward about signing World Cup winner for Man Utd

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There was great excitement when Paul Pogba returned to Manchester United in 2016, but Nicky Butt has provided insight into a meeting with former chief executive Ed Woodward that took place before the then record £89 million transfer.

Days could be spent arguing why Paul Pogba’s transfer to Manchester United in 2016 didn’t go as planned.

Many United fans will accuse Pogba of not living up to his expectations and providing a few moments of brilliance in a red shirt, like winning the Europa League and Carabao Cup in 2017.

However, Pogba did not play in a single Champions League knockout win during his six seasons at Old Trafford.

Pogba was subject of heavy criticism from the media, and he had an infamous spat with former United manager Jose Mourinho, which didn’t help.

Still, to this day, many see Pogba as one of the best midfielders of his generation. His technical ability cannot be faulted, but the lack of consistency he showed at United will forever aggravate fans.

Nicky Butt wanted a world-class partner for Paul Pogba in midfield

Pogba re-signed for United from Juventus in August 2016 for a world-record fee, with the French midfielder pledging that he returned to finish unsolved business at the club after controversially leaving as a free agent in 2012.

That didn’t happen as Pogba was plagued by injuries and inconsistency.

However, former United midfielder Nicky Butt has revealed that he took part in a meeting with Ed Woodward over potential transfer targets that would help take the team back to the top in 2016.

Of course, Pogba was part of the conversation, but Butt and Paul Scholes explain that he was only part of the solution because Toni Kroos was supposed to join the Frenchman.

“I even remember we had a chat, was it me and you spoke to Ed Woodward about him, Kroos, wasn’t it? We sat in the office,” Butt revealed on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast.

“Oh, yeah, it was. It was me, you, Giggsy,” Scholes said.

“Giggs was in charge, wasn’t he?” Butt added. “Them last four weeks. Yeah, the last four weeks. And we were saying about which one do you want to go and get?

“And yeah, we said go and get both of them. The Man United, go and buy both of them. And they just got Pogba.”

Butt continued: “And the end of the conversation was go for both of them, Kroos and Pogba, because we’re Man United and we need to get back to the top. And if you get one, it’s like Ying and Yang, we mentioned it a while ago about you look at centre backs, like with Harry Maguire and you need a footballing player next to him, it’s a bit the same with midfielders, we’re not all the same.

“You need a bit of a complement to each other. And that was how it was left. And then they went all out for Pogba.”

United waited a year to sign a midfield partner for Pogba when Mourinho signed Nemanja Matic from Chelsea, as a player he had previously worked with at Stamford Bridge. The Serbian international was a good servant to the club – but hardly an alternative to Kroos.

What Toni Kroos said about joining Man Utd

Kroos was set to join United in 2014 before Louis van Gaal was appointed manager.

So, two years before Pogba’s arrival, it could be argued that Kroos should’ve already been at Old Trafford rather than joining Real Madrid from Bayern Munich.

Kroos’ contract at Bayern was due to expire in the summer of 2015, which led to the Bundesliga giants selling him in 2014 to avoid losing him on a free transfer.

Kroos later revealed that Van Gaal wasn’t as keen on signing him as David Moyes was.

“David Moyes had come to see me and the contract had basically been done but then Moyes was fired and Louis van Gaal came in, which complicated matters,” Kroos told The Athletic.

“Louis wanted time to build his own project. I didn’t hear anything from United for a while and started having doubts. Then the World Cup started and [then Madrid manager] Carlo Ancelotti called. And that was it.”