'Are they blind in Manchester? Paul Pogba is one of those players who leaves you speechless,' Gianluigi Buffon told TV show Tiki Taka: 'When he came we didn't know him, but after only three or four training sessions we were impressed by his enormous qualities.'

The longer Paul Pogba's reputation rapidly grows, the longer he keeps scoring incredible goals, the longer he keeps dominating midfields, the more remarkable it becomes that Manchester United allowed him to leave on a free transfer.

On July 3 2012, Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed that the Frenchman had left via the bosman ruling, outlining that it appeared he signed for Juventus 'a long time ago as far as we're aware'.

'It is disappointing' Ferguson continued. 'I don't think he showed us any respect at all, to be honest. I'm quite happy that if they (as in footballers, generally) carry on that way, they're probably better doing it away from us'.

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Ferguson knew the mistake he was making. In the space of two years, the man who slipped through his fingers has won the 2013 Golden Boy award, given to the best under-21 player in Europe, followed by the Bravo award in 2014, awarded to the best under-23 player who has participated in European competitions. Internationally, he was also gifted the Best Young Player award for his input to France's quarter-final run at the 2014 World Cup.

Perhaps the most telling facet of qualitative research comes from a study by the CIES football observatory, who concluded using their complex algorithm that Pogba was the fifth most valuable footballer in the world at 72 million Euros.

There's been much speculation that he'll be leaving Juventus soon, but those rumours have been largely unfounded. Several newspaper outlets commented that his agent had announced implicitly that he would depart Juventus in the next eight months or so.

In reality, Pogba's agent actually stated: 'Will he stay in Italy? No, hmm- it will be up to Juventus, we have renewed his contract, we’re happy with Juventus but when the time is right to leave we’ll look at that opportunity.' When pressed on the timeframe of that, he added: 'We’ll see, I don’t know when the right time will come'.

Essentially, it's unlikely he'll leave this season, especially while Juventus continue to sweep Scudetto after Scudetto. The yardstick will come via Europe, where Italian clubs have struggled desperately in recent years. If Juventus continue to be a peripheral knockout team, the lure of Europe's superpowers will eventually take hold.

But Juventus won't want to see their team pulled apart though as they lead the Italian charge to regain some recognition in Europe. Previous manager, Antonio Conte, who has since moved onto the Italian national team, noted how “Pogba is a modern player, as he is strong, fast and has stamina. He’s also humble, so listens to the advice given by me and by his team-mates. I saw his interviews in which he said he wanted to become the best in the world. I am happy with that, because in my view he can be the best.”

The cross-generation connection is naturally made towards Patrick Vieira, who perhaps gives him the most glowing reference of all: “He's more offensive than me and perhaps better technically. I saw him play for Manchester United. That Manchester City did not take him when he left was a mistake because he is an extraordinary player.”

Those references, the performances, the aura. This man is going to dominate midfields in Europe for the next ten years. And when you appreciate how United's midfield has laboured in recent years, how Marouane Fellaini has laboured, how Ander Herrera took two transfer windows to sign, how ultimately the club are still reliant on Michael Carrick, it's hard not to conclude that this has been a monumental error.

It takes quite a personality to defy the Ferguson youth development program. Perhaps, ironically, it's that defiance, desire and determination that epitomises what United have mistakenly let go.

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