Paul Pogba
- Thread starter Butaan4barca
- Start date
Icarium
Lifestealer
Pogba Rakitic and Busi should be a decent midfield.
DonAK
President of FC Barcelona
I've studied Pogba and Koke very thoroughly this season and came up with this conclusion.
Passing:
- Short passing: This one goes to Koke due to a higher level of awareness regarding his close surroundings. He seems to know who is standing right next to him better.
- Long passing: Pogba is the better long passer. His long balls are more consistently accurate.
- Dead ball delivery: Koke. Simply one of the best dead ball specialist out there. 10 of his 15 Assists have come from dead balls.
- Through balls: Pogba plays them more frequently
- Link up play in the final third: Tie. Although I find Pogba a little more creative and hence more exciting, Koke's Link-up play is on par due to his short passing accuracy.
- Crossing: Hard to tell who is better at it, since both have similar accuracy, but Koke does it more often and a huge chunk of his created chances come from crosses.
Verdict: Koke's short passing game seems like a great fit for the more conservative Barca approach. But if Barca want to stick to the more vertical style of play that Enrique has introduced, Pogba might be better suited.
Defending:
- Positioning: Koke is more aware of his surroundings and therefore better positioned, which shows in his higher interception count.
- Tackling: Although Koke is tackling slightly more often, Pogba has a better success rate.
- Clearances: Tie. Both are equally good.
- Aerial Duels: Pogba wins more bacause of his physicality.
- Discipline: Koke is more disciplined overall since his timing is better, but Pogba has less Yellow Cards, since his fouls are less severe.
- Defensive Workrate/Pressing: Koke works harder.
Verdict: Koke is more Xaviesque when it comes to defending. He covers spaces well, due to his smart positioning and his tackles are well timed. Pogba is more physical, he can bully players of the ball more easily. Koke's defensive Style suits Barca better, but Pogba wouldn't be a misfit.
Technique/Game Intelligence:
- Dribbling: Pogba is quite clearly the better dribbler
- Touch: Koke's first touch lets him down less often, but his overall ball control is inferior to Pogba's.
- Awareness: Koke is superior in this regard
- Vision: Tie. Both Players have great footballing vision
- Creativity: Pogba is more creative in my opinion, but this is a difficult attribute to quantify.
- Decision Making: Koke is slightly better
Verdict: Pogba seems to be more technical, which would fit quite well into Barca's style of offensive play, but Koke's awareness make him more suitable defensively.
Goalscoring:
- Shot: Pogba shots are more accurate and dangerous.
- Finishing: While both are not notoriously cold in front of goal, Pogba is the better finisher.
- Offensive Workrate: Pogba works a little harder going forward.
Verdict: Pogba is a greater goal threat, due to his abilities and style of play. This is quite a handy trait, but no necessity for his position.
Final Conclusion:
They are both great players and a joy to watch. They still have a lot of upward trajectory, considering their young age.
If a Xavi replacement is what we are looking for, Koke would be a better fit, since his zonal marking, pressing and short passing are quite similar to Xavi's. He is simply more defensive than Pogba. I would personally still prefer Verrratti, who would be even more like Xavi. Chances of getting him seem very low though.
Pogba would edge more towards Iniesta's Position, but he wouldn't be a one for one Iniesta replacement, the closest thing to Iniesta would probably be Isco. Pogba would be a robust, but less swift attacking threat, that can inflict midfield dominance as well.
I would actually like to see both in our midfield, but if I had to choose I would probably pick Pogba, since I think his ceiling is higher and his style of play would fit Luis Enrique's vertical approach quite well. Paying 70 Million or more for him is a whole other story though and only time will tell if he can ever justify the huge amount he will definitely be going for.
(This analysis is subjective, if you disagree with any point stated or think anything is missing feel free to express so in an intelligent and respectful mannerVisca Barca :barca scarf: )
Great post, Nathael.
You should post more on Barcaforum
Sumlit
San Claudio Bravo
Cheers 
for the lengthy analysis nathael, well done!
I've been a proponent for Barca getting 2 midfielders, so getting both Koke and Pogba would fly exceedingly well with me. I wouldn't mind the big price-tag either since buying 2 very young and very talented midfielders should be seen as along term investment and future-proofing the team.
for the lengthy analysis nathael, well done!I've been a proponent for Barca getting 2 midfielders, so getting both Koke and Pogba would fly exceedingly well with me. I wouldn't mind the big price-tag either since buying 2 very young and very talented midfielders should be seen as along term investment and future-proofing the team.
Leo_Messi
New member
Great news. He is nowhere near 80-100 million euros worth. Let him fight for the mighty Ligue 1 title at PSG.
Last edited:
Bertus
New member
It's no great news.
That's very old news. I already posted about that meeting that happened weeks ago.
Since then, we got infos Pogba might not be interested to play for PSG because he would be too close with his family in France. Which seems to bother him for some reasons.
Leo_Messi
New member
I am not disputing that and don't really know as I don't follow the local sport media in France but my impression tells me that PSG are definitely interested in Pogba and apparent statements of players don't have much value nowadays. Could be false rumors too or false statements. We have heard such a thing before big transfers 100 of times.
In the end money talks and offering the right sports project to the player and PSG has the money and also the right sports project nowadays IMO. So it could definitely happen if you ask me.
Don't misunderstand me, I have nothing against Pogba and he is a very talented player, I just don't believe that he will fit our team and 80 million euros (at least IMO) is simply far too much for his type of player.
So that's why I am hoping that another team will buy him. Can't see RM buying him as their midfield is the best in the world already IMO.
Bertus
New member
Sol fact I can provide is that this meeting in Monaco happened for real.
Even Blanc was asked questions about it. He confirmed it happened, but said it doesn't mean anything.
The rest is just rumors.
G
Gasgas
Guest
Vlom
Previously known as Mehssi
According to Marca, Riola is asking Barça for a 12M€ (after tax) salary for Pogba (that would put him behind Messi alone in the barça wages hierarchy)
http://www.marca.com/en/2015/04/17/en/football/barcelona/1429304792.html
Also, Sport reported a few days ago (also relied by Marca) that a 70M€ was instantly rejected by Juventus judging it too "low" ..
I have a feeling this is either gonna end in a ridiculously expensive signing, or we won't get him ^^
Personally, I could live with a big buyout but not with the salary, that would be very bad for the group cohesion and probably start a few small revolution amongst other players even if we could afford it with Xavi's wage since he'll probably be leaving.
http://www.marca.com/en/2015/04/17/en/football/barcelona/1429304792.html
Also, Sport reported a few days ago (also relied by Marca) that a 70M€ was instantly rejected by Juventus judging it too "low" ..
I have a feeling this is either gonna end in a ridiculously expensive signing, or we won't get him ^^
Personally, I could live with a big buyout but not with the salary, that would be very bad for the group cohesion and probably start a few small revolution amongst other players even if we could afford it with Xavi's wage since he'll probably be leaving.
L
linetty
Guest
This is a no go for me. He's not worth that much.
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