'He will have a great future': Paul Pogba agent adds fresh fuel to transfer talk but rules out January move for French star

Paul Pogba will not leave Manchester United in January but a move is very much on the cards for the summer, according to the Frenchman’s agent Mino Raiola, who has said the midfield star "will have a great future."

Last week, a series of explosive comments from Raiola reignited talk that the “unhappy” Pogba would be on his way out of Old Trafford long before his contract expires in the summer of 2022.

READ MORE: Paul Pogba agent signals French World Cup winner is FINISHED with Old Trafford giants

“I can say that it’s over for Paul Pogba at Manchester United,” Raiola said.

“Paul is unhappy with Man Utd as he is no longer able to express himself in the way that he would like and as he is expected to. Paul needs a new team, a change of air.”

Pogba, 27, later issued a vow of commitment to the United cause, claiming he was “1,000% involved” and that “the future is far, today is what matters.”  

“I’ve always fought and will always fight for Manchester United, my team-mates and the fans. Bla bla is not important,” the Frenchman wrote on Instagram.

Raiola has now backtracked somewhat on his initial comments, admitting that a departure for Pogba during the upcoming January transfer window was never a realistic prospect, but that he still had his sights set on moving his client on in the summer.

“When it comes to him in England they are sensitive, perhaps too sensitive,” Raiola said at Tuttosport's Golden Boy awards.

“In January the great players hardly move, then in the summer let's see what happens. Pogba will have a great future.”

Pogba is capable of the sublime but has also frustrated United fans. © Reuters

United paid Juventus a club record £89 million to bring Pogba back to Old Trafford in 2016, having seen him leave for Italy on a free transfer as a 19-year-old. Raiola is said to have pocketed an astonishing £41 million from his client’s return to England.

In his first season back under then-manager Jose Mourinho, Pogba helped United to a cup double, winning the EFL Cup and UEFA Europa League, but has gone trophyless since.

His public flirtations with a move away from the club, including to Spanish giants Real Madrid, have not served his cause with the United fanbase, many of whom have accused Pogba of a lack of commitment and a failure to consistently produce his best.

Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba has been criticized by fans. © Reuters

Speaking to RT Sport last week, former United wing legend Andrei Kanchelskis said Pogba was not cut out for life in the Premier League and should leave the club.

“In my opinion he should leave,” Kanchelskis said. “If you play every time [thinking], ‘I don’t like this’, ‘I don’t like that’… Of course, sell him, no problem, go to another team.

“Big money Man Utd paid for Pogba. In my opinion, Pogba is not a player for Man Utd. For me, he’s a player for Italian football, maybe Spanish football, but not English football.

“If there’s some interested clubs from Italy or Spain, why not sell him?

“He plays more with no concentration, always in his mind [he has], ‘OK, I don’t like this, maybe I’m better leaving Manchester United’. OK, if you don’t like it, go away,"