Juventus' Paul Pogba (L) celebrates after scoring his second goal against Lazio during their Italian Serie A soccer match at Olympic stadium in Rome November 22, 2014.
Juventus' Paul Pogba (L) celebrates after scoring his second goal against Lazio during their Italian Serie A soccer match at Olympic stadium in Rome November 22, 2014. REUTERS/Giampiero Sposito

Manchester United wanted to sign Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale. Unfortunately for them the duo unequivocally rejected the offer and Real Madrid made sure that the rumors were nipped in the bud. Now according to the English daily, Daily Star, Manchester United have turned their radar on Juventus' Paul Pogba, 21, one of the brightest young starts in Europe.

Manchester United FC went on a spending spree of over 150M pounds (or AU $ 300M approx.) to bring in new players at the club. The financial backing seems to be there for manager Louis van Gaal to continue to spend big come January. Now they are turning their attention on somebody who was with them till 2012.

Paul Pogba is nicknamed II Polpo Paul or Paul the Octopus for his dangly long legs which resemble an octopus' tentacles when running or tackling. He has had quite an eventful past with Manchester United. When he arrived as a trainee to the youth academy of Manchester United from the French club Le Havre, the player and the England club were accused of wrongdoing. The matter led to the French club reporting the incident to FIFA. Finally both the clubs settled the matter out of court.

While at United, he played for the senior team on three occasions. His former club described him with the adjectives powerful, skillful and creative. "An eye for goal and a penchant for the spectacular", was also attributed by Manchester United towards his playing style. Unfortunately the bonhomie between them did not last.

Sir Alex Ferguson, the manager at the time accused Pogba of refusing to sign a deal extension with the club and secretly sign with Juventus on a four year deal. At Juventus Pogba has been instrumental in winning them back to back league titles and are in the running for a third title in three years. He has trebled his wages in Italy and would earn even more should he be allowed to move back to England. The Italian champions will find it difficult to stop such a move and it would be wise of them to cash in and move on.

To contact the author of this article, email a.biswas@IBTimes.com.au

RELATED STORIES