Stats show Man Utd target Pogba is not worth world-record fee

Paul Pogba: Linked with world-record move

Paul Pogba: Linked with world-record move

Manchester United might be closing in on a world-record deal for Paul Pogba – but stats show the player is far from worthy of the £100m fee being bandied about.

Earlier this week pictures were released of Pogba advertising the new Juventus kits for the 2016/17 Serie A season. Some have seen this as an indication that Pogba is staying put with the Bianconeri.

However, not so long ago a certain Raheem Sterling was used to advertise Liverpool’s 2015/16 kits only to be sold to Manchester City a few months later for £49 million.

Pogba’s asking price, which is likely to be at least £90million and upwards in £100million, could buy you two Raheem Sterlings with a couple million to spare. Is he really worth that much money? Is anyone? Our readers certainly don’t think so

With that in mind, our stats team have taken a look at Pogba’s performances last season to see how they rank against midfielders from Europe’s biggest leagues.

One would expect a player rated at £100million to excel in every one of their key areas.

 

Paul Pogba: Not worth the money being bandied about

 

However, Pogba only ranks in the top 10 in just three out of the eight key stats for a central midfield role. He also ranks outside the top 50 in four areas.

In terms of shots towards goal, Pogba is ranked top in Europe with a total of 124. Although, despite this, Pogba does not score as many goals as his shot rate would suggest. Last season saw him find the back of the net on just eight occasions for Juventus making for a poor shot accuracy of just 37%.

The issue with Pogba’s lack of goals for a player of his calibre is something which has been brought up in the past. Back in 2015 fellow Frenchman Michel Platini stated that Pogba is not a superstar simply because he does not score enough goals.

However, as most of us would agree when Pogba does find the back of the net it is usually worth the wait.

Pogba is ranked joint sixth in assists (12) along with a number of other European players including fellow French international Dimitri Payet.

Pogba also has an impressive rate of successful take-ons ranking seventh with a total of 102.

For a player estimated at £100million Pogba’s rate of successful passes (1,399) could do with an improvement after he ranked 61st in that category last season. His lowest rank puts him outside the top 200. Pogba is ranked 254th in terms of pass accuracy for players that have played over 90 minutes.

The French international ranks 86th in key passes made (42).

In terms of tackles won (55) Pogba just barely scrapes through the top 100 in Europe.

Of course, stats alone don’t make or break players – market demand and media hype also plays its part – but Pogba at £100m? Perhaps not….

By Alex Teoli

 

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