Manchester United Transfer Rumors: David Moyes Maintains Strong Interest In 21-Year-Old Juventus Midfielder Paul Pogba

Manchester United first-year boss David Moyes has not been shy about his desire to further upgrade the midfield position heading into the 2014-2015 campaign. Struggling mightily in the Barclays Premier League this season forced the former Everton coach to acquire midfielder Juan Mata from Chelsea in January but that move alone didn’t satisfy the organizations need for added talent. While names like Toni Kroos, Ilkay Gundogan and Marco Reus have been linked with possible moves to Old Trafford in recent time, David Moyes remains high on a former Manchester United talent who never received his chance to shine.

Current Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba has seen his name thrown into discussions concerning the idea that he’d join Manchester United this summer and while many Red Devils supporters would love to see the 21-year-old return to Old Trafford -- where he played in three games during the 2011-2012 campaign -- the fact that Pogba still has two years remaining on his contract with the Italian club could present issues for United higher-ups heading into the summer transfer period. Though a departure from Juventus certainly sits as a possibility, Pogba’s agent Mino Raiola said recently that his client is just focused on helping his side win championships.

“Right now the guy just wants to play and win both trophies with Juventus,” Raiola said recently while speaking with Italian sports newspaper Tuttosport. “After that he will focus on the World Cup so it's only fair that he's thinking about what's happened on the pitch over the next couple of months. He is still contracted to the club until 2016, which is a long contract, so there is no real hurry to extend it. He doesn't want to leave, but everything is postponed until after the World Cup finals in Brazil.”

Expected to develop into a top flight talent upon joining Manchester United in 2011, Pogba’s contract was not renewed by former boss Sir Alex Ferguson when it expired in 2012, leaving the midfielder with an opportunity to build his career in Italy. Many United loyalists believe that club officials did not do enough financially to keep the youngster in England, a claim that former Manchester United chief executive David Gill vehemently denies.

“We offered him a very good wage, as well as a very generous fee for his agent,” Gill said. “I don't want to go into details, because it was a complex issue. However, what I can say is that we were very disappointed. Whenever a player is determined to leave and his contract allows it there is nothing we can do about it. I can assure you that we did not hold anything back.”

In 29 Serie A matches with table-leading Juventus this season, Pogba has recorded 6 goals and 5 assists while continuing to solidify his status as a strong midfield talent.