I Love Paul Pogba But United Need to Step Up if They Want Him to Stay

Forget Neymar and Antoine Griezmann. The most interesting player in this transfer window is Paul Pogba. Pogba's future has been a whirlwind of speculation and it looks like the star Frenchman will be going nowhere.

First of all, this is not a professional piece. I have zero insight into Paul Pogba's future. Does that I mean I won't speculate? Absolutely not. Pogba has become one of my favorite footballers. And… well… I love to speculate.

So why do I think Pogba is going to stay at United? There are a few reasons, let's run through them.

There are only two clubs that I think Pogba would leave United for. Juventus and Real Madrid. As for Juventus, they've completed the signings of both Aaron Ramsey and Adrian Rabiot. Along with Miralem Pjanic, Emre Can, Blaise Matuidi, and Rodrigo Bentacur, Juventus have a strong midfield with a wealth of depth. Obviously adding Pogba would be a huge win but they don't have to. Instead, they can focus on signing Matthijs De Ligt, the 19-year-old Dutch center-back that led Ajax in a glorious campaign this past season.

So what about Madrid? I think they need him. But can they meet United's staggering $200 million price tag? After spending $345 million in this transfer window I'm not sure Real Madrid can make it happen. Although it might not happen this year… what about next year? Real Madrid is currently working with a 33-year-old Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, Casemiro, and Isco in their primes. Outside of that, they have very little to work with. Mateo Kovacic was sold to Chelsea and Marcos Llorente joined Atletico Madrid. Real has not signed a single central-midfielder this summer despite their big spending. A midfield trio of Isco, Casemiro, and Pogba would easily be the best midfield in the world. I'd be surprised if Madrid doesn't go all in this summer but if they don't, next summer is always an option.

So what does United need to do this upcoming season to ward of Madrid? They need to ball out. Simple as that.

1- United has a talented array of forwards. Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, and Romelu Lukaku, combined for 32 premier league goals last season. There's no reason that trio shouldn't be pushing 50. Rashford and Martial each scored 10 and Lukaku netted 12. In the end, Pogba was United's top premier league scorer who netted 13 goals. Jesse Lingard had an even worse season as he only managed to score 4 goals in premier league play. Yes, he struggled with injury but he is in dire need of a bounce-back season.

Lingard has been under the microscope of late and his childish antics have been called into question. This is all noise to me. The man can do whatever he wants off the field. But when he struggles to produce on the field, I'm not surprised people are fed up with him. Lingard should be right up there with Rashford and co and a 15 goal season or more for the Englishman may be just what he needs. If this season is yet another abysmal one, that's just another reason for Pogba to leave. And that goes for all the forwards. Pogba is an attacking midfielder. Yes, he can score but he's a facilitator. If he creating chances for his teammates and they fail to convert... Why stay?

2- Pogba needs a wingman. United have not signed any central-midfielders in this window. Their only signings have been Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Daniel James. A full-back and a winger. Both great signings with tremendous potential but with Andreas Herrera leaving for PSG on a free, Pogba will be left with Andreas Pereira, Fred, Scott McTominay, and Nemanja Matic. That's a pretty weak midfield if you ask me. So who can United add to bolster their midfield and help Pogba?

Bruno Fernandes- This guy has been linked with United all summer. I see his name linked with United whenever I fire up twitter. The 24-year-old attacking midfielder plays with Sporting Libson and he could compliment Pogba quite well. I like the fact that he's a young prospect and he will definitely add energy to a team that's full of young talent. United need to close this out soon though. Now with Wan-Bissaka at United, there's no reason they shouldn't be going all-in for Fernandes.

Giovani Lo Celso- I swear to god if Spurs sign this kid they win the league. Their midfield would be excessively deep even if Eriksen were to leave. The 23-year-old Argentinean appeared for Argentina in their Copa America run. He currently plays on Real Betis but it seems like a step up is on the horizon. Is it a stretch to a throw a young kid into the heat of Premier league play? Yes. But look at Scott McTominay of United. He stepped up for United last season amid an array of injuries and showed out. He has the potential to be a huge part of United in the future and I wouldn't be surprised if he starts the majority of United's games at defensive midfield this summer. So the answer is yes. If Lo Celso is up to the challenge and plays with the same fire, he could be a huge addition for United.

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic - Boys is that a mouthful. I've seen people pushing for United to pursue Savic if Fernandes was to fall through. He's worth approximately $72 million which is more than what United would pay for Fernandes but who cares? They sure as hell have the money to spend and this would be a great investment. Savic is 24 and it's only a matter of time until he leaves SS Lazio. Why not join United? They can certainly use him.

Surely there are more players that would compliment Pogba but I'll leave that for another time. Any of the three players listed above would be a huge addition for United. Let's just hope United can snag one of them.

3- The Final thing that United needs to do in order to secure Pogba for the future is that they need to get firmly behind him. United manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer did a wonderful job of that in his press conference today. Ole had nothing but praise for his star midfielder. " Paul has never been a concern for me. When he's on the pitch he's working hard, he's a true professional... he's been fantastic so far in training" (via United's twitter).

This is just what you want to hear. Even if everything Ole said isn't true, he's sacrificing his own image for the betterment of the team. This is something Jose Mourinho would have failed to do and this is why Ole is perfect for the United job. Pogba is coming off of the best season of his career, why alienate him?

I feel like you can only have so many miserable seasons. Don't get me wrong, United can fall into the same slump they did last summer but I wouldn't be so sure. I hope we are all in store for a sensational season for United. One that results in a Europa League title and a top-four finish. To do that, United's forward need to be much more productive and United need to find someone to help Pogba in the center of the pitch. Lastly, they need to support him and Ole is doing just that. Pogba's future hinges on how United does this upcoming season. Regardless, Real could push through a transfer if they wanted to but I think he'll be staying at United. If he remains a United player, I think we are in store for a truly spectacular season from the star midfielder. I saw a tweet that claimed, "Pogba has all the tools to become one of the worlds best midfielders". He already does. It's just those around him that need to realize it.