Journalist reveals Conte turned down chance to sign £93m player for free last summer
Italian journalist Massimo Brambati has revealed that Paul Pogba wanted to join Tottenham Hotspur last summer but Antonio Conte was not in favour of the idea.
It was during Conte’s time at Juventus that Pogba really exploded into life and made a name for himself as one of the most talented midfielders in world football.
Manchester United paid what was at the time a world-record fee of £93.2m to snap up the Frenchman from Juve back in 2016 but despite showing glimpses of his quality at Old Trafford, the midfielder never really managed to live up to his potential in his six years at the club.
Pogba eventually left the Theatre of Dreams after his contract ran out last summer to return to the Old Lady but the 30-year-old has endured an injury nightmare this season, having made just two appearances so far for the Italian giants.
While discussing the former Manchester United man’s attitude problems, Brambati has revealed that Conte passed up on the chance to sign the player last summer despite having been approached by Fabio Paratici about the opportunity.
The journalist told TuttoMercatoWeb: “They told me that he (Pogba) arrived at dinner already late, so it wasn’t a delay to a technical meeting but a retreat of at least 40 minutes or an hour.
“It’s an attitude that shouldn’t be accepted in any club, especially by a highly paid professional. And I ask myself: is there anyone co-responsible in this situation? Maybe whoever took it is responsible.
“I know that his first choice was Antonio Conte’s Tottenham but the coach said no to Paratici to this option.”
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It certainly is not surprising that Conte passed up on the chance to sign Pogba, given how much the Italian values players’ attitude and work ethic. Besides, the Frenchman would not have fit into the Italian’s preferred 3-4-3 system at Tottenham.
The decision not to bring Pogba to north London looks to have been a wise decision given his lack of game time with the Serie A side this season.
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