I’m in no doubt that we are entering the end game between Jose Mourinho and Paul Pogba at Manchester United. Old Trafford isn’t big enough for the two of them and their egos!

The French World Cup winner seems dead set on leaving the Red Devils with Barcelona being tipped as his ideal destination.

At this point Jose still seems to have the backing of the Man United board and I’d imagine he sees the midfielder as an unwanted distraction that undermines his authority.

It does look as though it could be best for all parties to draw a line in the sand and for United to sell the influential middle man.

If Pogba were to leave Man Utd during either of the two up and coming transfer windows, then they’ll need to dip into the transfer market and bring in a stellar signing to replace the dynamic midfielder.

In that regard, I’d urge them to look away from bringing in a direct replacement and think about signing a world class number ten, who has almost limitless potential.

That man could be Juventus maestro Paulo Dybala.

Many thought the Argentine would’ve been sold during the summer, especially with the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo. But Dybala stayed on, clearly hoping to forge a great partnership with the Portuguese superstar.

Alas that doesn’t seem to have happened in Turin, well not just yet.

Some creative talent get either intimated or stifled when asked to play alongside Ronaldo. Kaka, Gareth Bale and Angel Di Maria spring to mind.

Sometimes it’s because you’re not one of Cristiano’s favourites, sometimes it’s because certain styles don’t match and sometimes players just can’t accept that absolutely everything has to go through the forward.

For whatever reason, Dybala has just not been as good for Juve this term as he has been in the past.

It seems as though Juventus coach Max Allegri is trying desperately to accommodate the young Argentinian but the Italian boss also seems to prefer playing a 4-3-3 formation.

In a 4-3-3; you have Mario Mandzukic as the main striker and Ronaldo and Federico Bernardeschi in the wider forward roles. Dyabala seems much more suited as a free number ten but that’s not afforded to him in a three man attack. While Paulo has been deployed on the right and done ok, Bernardeschi has performed better in that role in my opinion.

In Juve’s last Serie A game both Ronaldo and Dybala made great contributions as the Italian champions swept aside Bologna 2-0. Ronaldo created an assist and Paulo scored and got the man of the match award. But that was in a 3-5-1-1 formation and it remains uncertain on whether or not Allegri would use that tactic in the longterm, especially in the bigger games.

The Juventus boss did say after that win, that he was thinking about playing Paulo Dybala as a main central striker:

‘I could play Dybala as striker. I think it’s possible, yes. If you remember, this is something we already tried a couple of season ago,’

‘If we play with this system, we need two wingers playing more offensive because Paulo is not a player who only plays in the box. ‘He likes coming back and he makes the team play very well. Therefore, I have to use him according to his characteristics.’

That quote seems to suggest that Allegri is unsure about Dybala being a focal point to the team in that role and that essentially he’d be playing out of position, which could then lead to problems.

If Dybala gets used more sparingly then you’ve got to imagine that he could become disillusioned with life in Turin and see his future lying elsewhere.

Now at Man United Jose Mourinho has often used formations that called for a number ten to play behind his main striker, whether it be a 3-5-1-1 or more commonly a 4-2-3-1 . That preferred formation looks to have been scrapped for a 4-3-3, to basically accommodate Pogba and get the best out of the midfielder. It’s what he was used to in Italy, while at Juve, and with the French national team.

Yet Pogba still doesn’t seem as assured or disciplined in a 4-3-3 at Old Trafford, for whatever reason. The other problem Mourinho has had with the 4-3-3 is that it can see Romelu Lukaku playing up-top and becoming too isolated.

If Jose were to sell Pogba, then surely he’d be inclined to bring in a proper number ten and give that signing licence to create and help Lukaku in the final third.

In Dybala, United would be getting that talented spark that could create chances for the Belgian striker. He can expertly dribble at and beat opponents, he has the vision to cut defences open with intelligent passes, he can be clinical in front of goal and he’s also dangerous from set-pieces situations too.

Even in his five appearances this term, Paulo has had an 89.6% passing success rate and makes around 2-2 shots per game. Last term the Argentine scored twenty-two goals and created five assists.

At Man United, if he were to replace Paul Pogba, Dybala would be seen as the creative spearhead and he’d see plenty of the ball. He’s a runner and will work hard but he can also add to the goal tally and get more from main hitman Lukaku too

Man United will need to be bold if they decide to dump Pogba and bringing in twenty-four year old Paulo Dybala would show intent and bring excitement into the stands at Old Trafford.

Posted on September 28th, 2018 by scott
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