Rating Transfer Rumours-Part 4 Thauvin, de Jong and Pogba
I hope you had a good Christmas, but it’s over now so I’m getting back to this series. Here are Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 if you’ve missed them. Today I want to talk about:
- Florian Thauvin — Marseille to Bayern Munich
- Frenkie de Jong — Ajax to Paris Saint Germain
- Paul Pogba — Manchester United to Juventus
Florian Thauvin to Bayern Munich
Bayern aren’t having their best season after several seasons of dominance domestically and winning the Champions League six seasons ago. Their team hasn’t changed drastically in the last few seasons. Arjen Robben and Frank Ribery were key players in that Champions League winning team and are still there but struggling with injuries. They haven’t been effectively replaced as Gnabry and Coman are good young wingers but have also suffered injuries.
Munich have an ageing squad. Their key striker, Lewandowski, is 30 with their back ups, Wagner and Müller are 31 and 29 respectively. Lewandowski is their highest goal contributor with 15, Kimmich is second with 8. They’re underperforming expected goals a bit as well.
Thauvin is 25 and has a lot of experience in a top league and reached a Europa League final last year and was in the World Cup winning squad. He a winger with a very impressive goal contribution. Scoring 22 league goals last season in 35 league appearances and also created 11 goals.
For the Frenchman, a move to a big club makes sense. It secure Champions League football and the chance to compete for Bundesliga titles while playing a historic club. Playing for Marseille, a league title is unlikely due to PSG’s financial power. Thauvin has already left Marseille before for a bigger league when he moved to Newcastle United. He returned to Marseille when that didn’t work out. The winger has greatly improved since then and is ready for a big move.
Marseille: ⭐⭐
Bayern Munich: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thauvin: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Frenkie de Jong to Paris Saint Germain
Football twitter’s favourite player. And I’m no exception. De Jong is an exciting young player being linked with all of the biggest teams. A great passer, can dribble, create space and a good defender with great ball control.
He is pretty complete and the dream midfielder. Especially in the modern brand of football, he is a rare breed which is very sought after. PSG dream of a Champions League after dominating French football and spending big. But, have so far fallen short with some disappointing results. They have started investing heavily in young players who play a big role in their team. But have struggled for central midfielder so far this season. De Jong would be the perfect addition to their squad and carry them into the future. It would mean PSG would have three of the main talents for the future in De Jong, Mbappe and Neymar.
PSG are struggling with their FFP and therefore may be forced to pass on de Jong or agree a loan agreement similar to the one they used for Mbappe. They face a lot of competition with Barcelona, Bayern Munich, both Manchester teams, Real Madrid and Chelsea all understandably interested.
Ajax are a bit of a dark horse in the Champions League in my opinion but have a difficult draw against Real Madrid. De Jong is ready for the step up and compete for big trophies. I would want to see him in the Premier League as I’m biased, and particularly Manchester City as I’ve said for a while that City need a new 6 and I would like to see a special player like the young Dutchman to develop under Guardiola.
Ajax: ⭐⭐⭐
PSG: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
De Jong: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Paul Pogba to Juventus
The French midfielder is being linked to a return move to Juventus, the club he had a lot of success with before his big return to Manchester United. I wrote about Pogba’s situation at Manchester United earlier this week where I discussed my thoughts on him. I also wrote about Jose Mourinho’s sacking, which is a huge factor in this potential transfer.
Juventus would benefit from buying Pogba, as would any team. He would create a dangerous midfield with Pjanic and Bentancur. Titles come with ease at Juventus while also being competitive in the Champions League. Pogba would also get the chance to play with Cristiano Ronaldo.
However, it is an exciting time for Manchester United as they look to modernise and grow. Pogba is having a strong season and could really do something with Manchester United in my opinion. Pogba is only 25 and already has a very impressive CV. I think he should give United more time and if things still don’t work out after Mourinho has left then maybe a move away would make sense.
Manchester United: ⭐⭐
Juventus: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Pogba: ⭐⭐⭐
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