Premier League 2018-19: 3 reasons why Manchester United should sell Paul Pogba this summer

#2 He apparently wants to leave

Pogba has openly flirted with a move to Real Madrid in recent months

Despite the hype around Pogba’s return to Old Trafford in 2016, it hasn’t all been plain sailing for the French superstar since he arrived there. His form has been patchy for the past three seasons despite some flashes of his tremendous talent, and in all honesty it’s never really felt like he truly belongs at Manchester United - the way past superstars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Ruud van Nistelrooy did.

Part of that feeling could be because in Pogba’s mind, United isn’t his final destination. Plenty of players are linked with sides like Real Madrid – Harry Kane, Eden Hazard and Christian Eriksen come to mind for recent years – but it’s rare to see a player at a massive club like Manchester United openly discuss a possible move elsewhere. And yet that’s exactly what Pogba did last month when he was asked about a possible move to the Bernabeu.

During the international break, Pogba stated that a move to Real Madrid would be “a dream for anyone”, and that working under Real boss Zinedine Zidane would be equally enticing. He did claim that he was “happy” at United, but then immediately said that “we don’t know what the future holds”.

To me, that doesn’t sound like a player who’s really content with staying at United and helping them get back to their former glory.

And if that is indeed the case, then why should United want to keep him? Admittedly, he doesn’t cut an unhappy figure right now, but with current reports suggesting he wants to engineer a move to Madrid, the Red Devils might be better off cutting their losses now rather than getting into a protracted transfer saga which could prove a distraction.