Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte reportedly turned down the opportunity to sign French international midfielder Paul Pogba.
The midfielder joined his former club Juventus on a free transfer after leaving Manchester United but journalist Massimo Brambati has now revealed that Tottenham were his first choice back then. However, Conte asked Tottenham director Fabio Paratici not to sign the player at the time.
“I wonder: is there anyone co-responsible in this situation?” Brambati said (h/t Tuttomercatoweb).
“Whoever took him is responsible. I know that his first choice was Antonio Conte’s Tottenham but the coach said no to Paratici to this option.”
It seems that the Italian manager’s decision was spot on. Pogba has had a disappointing time at Juventus so far and the French midfielder has suffered from persistent injury problems.
The 29-year-old is yet to start a single game for Juventus across all competitions and he has played a total of 35 minutes across all competitions for them. It remains to be seen whether Pogba can get his career back on track with regular football for the Italian club.
There is no doubt that the 2018 World Cup winner is a world-class player on his day and he will be desperate to get back to his best once again.
Meanwhile, Spurs are in need of central midfield reinforcements and an in-form Pogba would have been a superb acquisition for them, especially on a free transfer.
It remains to be seen whether the London club can bring in a quality central midfielder at the end of the season. Conte needs to sign a player who will add creativity and control in the middle of the park.
Spurs have not been able to rotate the likes of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur as often as they would have liked because of the lack of options. Tottenham will need a deeper squad to compete on all fronts and they have been linked with the number of central midfielders in recent weeks.
It remains to be seen whether Conte can guide them to a top four finish. Missing out on Champions League football could be a damaging blow for Tottenham when it comes to attracting top-class players in the transfer window.
