Despite a “tough season” in 2022-23, Paul Pogba may still have a future at Juventus, with the Frenchman being “essential” to their ambitions.
The World Cup-winning midfielder returned to Turin for a second stint with the Bianconeri in 2022, following a return to Italy as a free agent when his contract with Manchester United expired. Pogba’s ideal move quickly turned into a nightmare when he sustained an injury in pre-season that required surgery. He made just ten games in a season that was badly interrupted, and there has been discussion of Juve selling him to a team in Saudi Arabia.
WHAT THEY SAID: Juve’s sporting director, Cristiano Giuntoli, has now addressed that speculation, telling reporters at his first press conference in a new job when asked for an update on Pogba: “His situation is clear, the guy is returning from a difficult season and we are waiting for him. He is fundamental for us, he has experience and quality and we rely on him to mentor the many lads we have.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: USMNT star Weston McKennie is another of those to have seen an imminent transfer speculated on, but no deal has been done and Giuntoli added on the American midfielder: “We’ve never said McKennie is out of the project, right now there are players on the market. We are in talks with a couple of clubs for [Denis] Zakaria, same as Arthur and Leonardo but we haven’t found anything that suits him [Bonucci] yet.”
