Since gaining prominence in the Juventus midfield following a 2012 move from Manchester United, Paul Pogba has risen to become not only one of the most promising talents in his position, but arguably one of the best right now.
In keeping with the Blues' transfer model, it's therefore of little surprise to hear that Chelsea are one of a number of European giants willing to break the bank for his signature, per Wayne Veysey of Goal.com.
By all means, it's a smart move. United will assuredly regret letting such a prospect leave their shores two years ago, since which he has become one of the most respected and well-rounded central midfielders on the continent.
However, each deal, even with Chelsea's oligarch billions, should be treated contextually, and Veysey proclaims that were the Frenchman to arrive at Stamford Bridge, he would do so as their newly highest-paid player:
@ossianshine Pogba? In light of monster PL deal, yes, that's true. But would still be installed as top earner at CFC if deal went through.
— Wayne Veysey (@wayneveysey) June 27, 2014
It's of course a known twist in football over the last decade, but more specifically in recent years, that even young talents can garner massive fees and even bigger wages these days, but sometimes the figures simply can't be tolerated.
Veysey mentions that Juve would only listen to offers in the region "of around £65 million," the kind of sum that will inevitably be followed by a huge salary.
In Pogba's case, this would be at least £180,000 a week, the wages that Cesc Fabregas, Fernando Torres, John Terry and Eden Hazard are currently on. For the sake of discussion, let's assume the 21-year-old would rake in a slightly higher amount of £185,000 a week.
By that math, the youngster would cost the club £9.62 million a year in salary. Over the course of a five-year contract, this would amount to £48.1 million which, taking the transfer fee into account, puts the deal at a little over £100 million.
Those aren't the kind of numbers one splurges every day, even in West London.
Pogba will be difficult to prise away, too, given that it was only in May that he told French newspaper L'Equipe (h/t Sky Sports) of his commitment to the Serie A champions:
Queens Park Rangers defender Rio Ferdinand evidently believes ex-clubmate Pogba is an immense talent, but even he may not be taking the finances into account:I hear reports placing Pogba here and Pogba there. I haven't spoken to Juve regarding what I hear and there's nothing. Recently the press spoke about me getting a telephone call from (Real Madrid assistant coach) Zidane to join Real.I have not received a recent call nor have we exchanged numbers. My aim? To win another Scudetto, why not?
"@bugpowder9: @rioferdy5 @Kenty234 don't the want like 50 mil for pogba?" > in today's market, I'd fly over & headlock him to sign up!!
— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) June 27, 2014
"@Kenty234: @rioferdy5 rio, what do you think of vidal? Midfield beast?" Really like him, Pogba better value for money now though....
— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) June 27, 2014
In Fabregas, Jose Mourinho's side have already added one elite playmaker to their ranks this summer, and for £28.4 million, less than half of what Pogba would be rumoured to cost. Granted, Pogba's age makes him a better investment in the long term, but by no means would the France star guarantee success.
As Veysey suggests, Chelsea will clear a significant portion of their wage bill with the departures of Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole this summer, but that salary space could accommodate four or even five higher-risk but potentially equally profitable purchases.
There's a myriad of factors to take into account, too. Seeing one so young come into the squad commanding such figures wouldn't necessarily affect some of the squad's bigger egos for the better, and the knock-on effect could see other Blues demanding a rise, or worse, threaten to leave.
This is all theoretical, of course, but in the world of the Premier League diva, stranger things have happened.
Juve did terrifically well to pick up Pogba when they did and in the cut-price manner they did. And as such, it's they who are in the driving seat with his future—it's their deserved reward.
The puppeteer is currently in Brazil impressing with Les Bleus at the World Cup, which as WhoScored.com points out is going swimmingly:
Paul Pogba: No player has completed more passes in the final third in a World Cup 2014 match than @paulpogba did vs Ecuador (30) #fra
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) June 26, 2014
When speaking in terms of the money that Roman Abramovich commands, the odd million here and extra £10,000 a week or so there are not deal-breakers, but we're talking of substantially more in this case.
After all, it's not as though Pogba is the only solution in the market. Somewhere out there is a talent superior to even him and undoubtedly better value for money, too. It's just a case of Chelsea, a club with the means to boast one of the best scouting networks in the world, rooting these players out.
Would Pogba improve Mourinho's line-up? There's no questioning it. In a few years' time, will he be mentioned in the debates for who should win the Ballon d'Or? There's a very good chance, yes.
But in a world of crazy transfer expenditures based on short-term results when there are other options on the table, even Chelsea should consider themselves out of their depth on this occasion.
Source: Bleacher Report
Tom Sunderland
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