A divisive figure in the dressing room and on the pitch is the last thing West Ham United need right now.
Remember Paul Pogba’s controversial episode with London Stadium fans which ended up in the press: metro.co.uk reporting in 2021: “Paul Pogba dragged away by Michael Carrick as Manchester United star taunts West Ham fans”
I’d be worried if these rumours of West Ham actively planning on bringing him to Stratford persist – for that is all they are at present, rumours.
Whilst we’d welcome a player of his undoubted qualities to the squad with open arms, the personality that comes with it would invade the cracks which are present at the moment in a fractured squad with several unsettled players – and quite possibly widen those cracks without a strong head coach to keep him in line.
And that we do not have right now.
With less sensational but equally effective options available and being tracked right now in the Premier League- such as James McAtee or further afield – Valencia’s Javi Guerra, it seems our Hammers recruitment team are under orders to improve the central midfield squad depth.
Further evidence today is reported via thehardtackle.com in with news of further emphasis on recruiting from a lower division (which instantly gives it more credibility in my eyes) in the shape of Championship midfielder Josh Brownhill from Burnley. So it looks as if the ‘anyone but Pogba’ option gathers pace.
Compared with Pogba, Josh Brownhill looks a safe bet to improve Hammers’ static and porous midfield
Brownhill is in the last year of a contract and so Burnley would probably be wise to grab any fee in January rather than lose him on a ‘free’ in the summer. He’d centrally be a Rodriguez upgrade without breaking the bank or – as likely in Pogba’s case – the squad morale.
The lack of further concrete news regarding ‘Pogba at West Ham’ is comforting- let’s hope it stays that way.
