Manchester United let Paul Pogba go and he proved them wrong at Juventus.
Now we are being told that Pep Guardiola wants to sign him for £75 million before Euro 2012 kicks off.
I’m a big Pogba fan because he can make decisive interventions in the front third. A powerful athlete, he’s a 21st century gladiator who can decide tight games with a shot or header or flick.
Pogba (23) and Dele Alli (19) are both tall, both dynamic midfielders who score goals.
But there ‘s a huge difference in experience, since Pogba has played 101 league games for Juventus, played against Barcelona in last summer’s Champions League Final, and has earned 29 senior caps with France
Dele Alli, who has six caps, has looked superb in his England career so far, scoring a spectacular goal in November’s win over France before impressing in last Saturday’s comeback in Berlin, where they eventually won 3-2.
The England team in Marseilles on June 11 should be Harry Kane , Dele Alli, Joe Hart +8 others.
I’ve always been a fan of the versatile, reliable James Milner, who went to Liverpool on a free from Man City last summer.
Milner is a solid Yorkshire lad who was born in Leeds, got 11 GCSEs, played cricket for Yorkshire schools, and started as a trainee at Leeds United. They sold him to Newcastle in 2004, who sold him to Aston Villa. He played 147 games for Manchester City between 2010 and 2015.
Remarkably, Milner played 46 games for England Under-21s, made his full debut as a sub in a 2-2 draw against Holland in August in 2009, and he’s earned 58 full caps so far.
So James Milner has been around long enough to have seen a lot of boy wonders come and go.
But he can’t see that happening this time.
Talking about his new England colleague, Milner said he’s been impressed by the consistency of Alli’s club form but warned that we should not expect too much from any youngster : “As good as he is at this moment, he can be 10 times better – and he will. He has a great attitude and will keep working hard and keep improving but we need to take that spotlight off him and let him develop and improve. He is brilliant on the ball and will only get better and keep learning.”
Maybe both players will start at Anfield on Saturday evening, when Liverpool play Spurs.