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Jose Mourinho did not need to place Paul Pogba on the transfer market last summer. The agent of the most expensive playing investment in both Manchester United and their manager's history had long since done that for him.

In search of another double-cream commission on a footballer he'd marketed to the sport's highest transfer fee just two years previously, Mino Raiola had been hawking Pogba round Europe's wealthiest clubs for months. A cross-city switch that would have reduced Carlos Tevez's 'Welcome to MANCHESTER' move to the B-list? Proposed to, and rejected by, Manchester City's billionaires.

The best Raiola could come up with was an offer from Barcelona to swap Andre Gomes and Yerry Mina for the France international. A mere two years after paying Juventus an initial €105million and making Pogba the English Premier League's best paid player, that was a deal United could not credibly accept. Had Barca upped the ante, however, they may have got their man.

“If someone comes with money Jose would have sold,” says one United source. Whether Ed Woodward would have sanctioned the sale of the shiniest trophy asset of his time as executive vice-chairman, a player central to cherished commercial strategies, is another matter. That Mourinho was considering cutting his losses on an individual he chose to rebuild United around demonstrate how much of a problem Pogba has become.

(Image: Getty)

“A virus,” in the words used by Mourinho to admonish Pogba after one of the midfielder's worst performances in a United shirt. In front of team-mates who'd suffered as the Frenchman repeatedly turned over possession to Southampton last weekend, Pogba was told: “You don't play. You don't respect players and supporters. And you kill the mentality of the good honest people around you.”

His response, according to one of the sources of Record Sport's exclusive, was to say nothing. “Mouth closed”. Four days later Mourinho dropped Pogba for the visit of Arsenal, using his programme notes to repeat a message that “simplicity is genius”.

“We have to make our weaknesses become our strengths, with real determination, pride and desire to win the match,” added Mourinho. “There isn't space for people who are not ready to give their all."

(Image: Man Utd via Getty) (Image: Rex Features)

It's not a question of whether Pogba is capable of delivering that – he has produced performances on a level few can match during his two and half seasons back at Old Trafford. The 25-year-old is blessed with a rare combination of technical and physical ability and, at his best, is a thrilling, dominant footballer. The issues are consistency, intelligence and attitude.

Taking unnecessary, showy risks at points in matches when his team is in control but a result is not secure. Slowing the game down by dwelling on the ball when his manager asks for one or two-touch play (how often do even the most able of City players take more than two touches before passing?) Exposing team-mates by failing to close down opponents or run back into position. Publicly criticising United's tactics in post-match interviews.

Statistics underline Pogba's failure to make the most of his lavishly remunerated ability. Following the draw at Southampton, it was pointed out that he'd lost possession 252 times in his 13 Premier League appearances this season, the highest figure for any midfielder.

Some defended Pogba by noting that the 2017/18 season's most 'wasteful' midfielder was Kevin De Bruyne, a creator-in-chief who should have won that campaign's Footballer of the Year awards. The difference, though, lies in end product.

De Bruyne scored, or provided the final pass for, 24 of City's goals last season; Pogba, with two goals from the penalty spot included, has delivered six so far this season. The Premier League credited De Bruyne with creating 19 “big chances” last season; Pogba is on two this. De Bruyne was second in the division for “key passes per game”; Pogba currently ranks 47th on that statistic, with the same production rate as Johann Gudmundsson and Rachid Ghezzal.

Three United team-mates (Alexis Sanchez, Antonio Valencia and Anthony Martial) are ahead of Pogba on key passes, but he beats everyone of them – by a country mile – on the number of times he's dispossessed per game. Across the entire Premier League, Pogba ranks sixth on that statistic, with all those ahead of him being forwards. It's a similar story for what analysts label “bad control per match”: Pogba has the worst numbers at United (2.8 per game), ranks 10th in the entire division, and all those with worse numbers play higher up the field.

The “virus” is, as described, infectious. Those playing alongside Pogba have to run more to cover for his failures to adhere to team shape and position themselves in anticipation of unnecessary and dangerous turnovers of possession. Nemanja Matic has been targetted by supporters as poor results have rolled in, yet his personal running statistics testify to the Serb's efforts to compensate for Pogba.

Twenty-two games into last season, United ranked 20th in the division for distance covered per match – a figure that is more reflective of their tactical set-up than a lack of effort or fitness. Yet by the final month of that campaign, Matic had covered more kilometres than all but four players across all 20 clubs. With the similarly selfless Ander Herrera in for Pogba on Wednesday, Matic was named the broadcaster's man of the match.

(Image: REUTERS)

The issues don't end there. Pogba's influence on the dressing room is described as “corrosive”, his sometimes negative, unfocussed or rebellious example setting a tone for others. Some of United's younger players have been warned to ignore Pogba's complaints and concentrate on their own development.

Mourinho has tried reshaping his system to suit Pogba, praised him in public, handed him the captain's armband, put him on penalties. A strong-willed man, the Portuguese has tried to make it work yet been met with off-field dissent and on-field disaster.

With a principal advisor as conscious of the bottom line as Pogba's is, the point of least resistance appears to be for manager and midfielder to part company. That, however, would require a decision by Woodward. A decision over who he values more.

Catch Duncan, Jonny McFarlane and Ian McGarry on The Transfer Window podcast for the inside word on the biggest transfer stories in world football. Available on iTunes