Paul Pogba is reportedly unhappy at Manchester United with his agent Mino Raiola publicly encouraging him to change teams next season.
France midfielder Pogba, 27, has a contract with United until the summer of 2022 but the outspoken Raiola has revealed to the Italian media that the former Juventus man is likely to leave before his deal expires.
"Paul is unhappy. He is no longer able to express himself as he would like and as expected of him," Raiola told Tuttosport.
"He has to change teams; he has to change the air. He has a contract that will expire in a year and a half, but I think the best solution for the parties is to sell him in the next market."
Raiola's dealings with Arsenal have been few and far between over the years. He's dealt with most teams in Europe whether it be through him or an intermediary and the Gunners last few transfers with the Dutch-Italian have been hit and miss.
Donyell Malen was an up and coming talent in Arsenal's academy and they failed to keep him at the club in 2017 after he forced through a move to PSV. The website Transfermarkt now value him at £22.5million as the Dutch youngster continues to earn rave reviews for his performances in Holland.
“That I was sent away from Arsenal is certainly not true. I still had a contract for a year and Arsenal even wanted to extend that,” Malen told De Telegraaf in May of last year.
“I don’t play football for the money. I never did that. Otherwise, I would not have left England.”
Malen may have been one that got away but Henrikh Mkhitaryan was one that certainly didn't. He never truly fulfilled the expectations of many after he came the other way in a swap deal with Alexis Sanchez, unable to follow in the Chilean's footsteps during his 18 months at the club.
"Manchester United are not going to sign Sanchez unless Mkhi agrees to join Arsenal," Raiola told The Times before the deal went through.
"Mkhi is going to do what is best for him. He has two-and-a-half years left on his contract, so it's his decision."
As it happened, the move didn't work out. Arsenal ended up being hamstrung by Mkhitaryan's large contract and decided to let the Armenian go on a free transfer in the summer having spent last season on loan at Roma.
It was a deal that Raiola pushed for and it meant that the Gunners took Mkhitaryan's huge salary off their books. But was it the best way to deal with Raiola?
Raiola said on Monday that Pogba's time at United is now "over". The midfielder made only 22 appearances in all competitions last season because of an ankle injury, but when he comes out with a statement like that it means that the player is almost certainly looking for a way out.
"It is useless to go around it," he said. "Better to speak clearly, look ahead and not waste time."
The most likely option for Pogba is to return to Juventus, although a swap deal is realistically the only deal the Italian giants can afford due to financial limitations. That means that United are in a position where they could get a quality player in return.
They should learn from the Alexis swap three years ago and ensure that the deal they get this time is one that benefits them on the pitch, otherwise it risks being a similar situation to what happened with Mkhitaryan and Alexis.
