Paul Pogba Transfer Odds: Madrid rated likeliest January destination

Paul Pogba is 11/4 to join Real Madrid in the January transfer window after his agent said the player needs to leave Manchester United.

The player has endured a frustrating second spell at Old Trafford since rejoining from Juventus in 2016. This season, he has fallen behind the likes of Fred and Nemanja Matic in the midfield pecking order and has largely been used as a substitute.

At 27, Pogba should be nearing his peak and he has half-an-eye on next summer’s rescheduled Euro 2020 with France. It is no surprise that he wants to be playing every week (when fit) and, with just 18 months left on his contract, he could leave in the January transfer window.

Madrid has long been mooted as his likeliest destination, especially as his compatriot Zinedine Zidane is manager. That could change, however, if the La Liga giants are knocked out of the Champions League on Wednesday.

Other possibilities for Pogba include a return to Juventus – the club where he played his best football from 2012-2016 – and he is 11/2 to join the Italian champions.

Paris Saint-Germain may also be interested in Pogba, who grew up in the French capital, and it is 5/1 that he will go there.

Barcelona were once talked about as a possible destination but at 9/1 it looks unlikely that he will go to the Nou Camp, especially amid the uncertainty around the club before next year’s presidential election and the saga of Lionel Messi’s future.

Nobody at Old Trafford, least of all Solskjaer who knew Pogba when he was coming through the club’s youth ranks, doubts the Frenchman’s ability. His failure to succeed there is a source of bitter disappointment to all involved.

But it is not working and has not been for some time. He is no longer a young player and, with Bruno Fernandes now the Red Devils’ undisputed talisman, the club will not miss Pogba if he leaves. Last season, he only played 22 times in all competitions and many of those appearances were from the bench.