Good to see more and more people comparing Pogba to De Bruyne, I was always a little uncomfortable with the comparison between Yaya and Pogba (for obvious reasons). They're totally different types of players with totally different skill sets. To put it another way, Yaya was the kind of man you built your team around. Pogba, on the other hand, is the kind of midfielder you build your team for. Yaya had this brilliant ability to take a backseat during games while subtly controlling the entire thing - he was mostly the man who started moves from behind the midfield. Pogba's more of a headline maker, a game-breaker, the player who finishes those moves off, which is much more the type of player De Bruyne is. I think De Bruyne's much more productive and far more dangerous - if he picks the ball up 30-40 yards from goal you can guarantee something's going to happen in a way I'm not sure you can with Pogba.
But Pogba's now at the age where De Bruyne really stepped up a level, so we'll see where he goes from here. Kevin was excellent in his first season under Pellegrini as a #10, but Guardiola moved him into a #8 position and it took a while for him to adjust. His performances during the second half of the 16/17 season were pretty mixed, in all honesty. He was having trouble adjusting to the new position, he'd just had a son, he wasn't right really. He finished that season well, though, and came back at the start of 17/18 a new man and essentially won the league on his own before December. I'm not saying Pogba's got that level of ability but the team surrounding him isn't as good as City's was in the Centurions season, so it'd be unfair to expect as much from him. But Pogba's definitely capable of a 20-goal/15-assist season if he puts his mind to it and if Ole builds the team for him.
What would have helped, only in my view of course, would have been acquiring a defensive midfielder or just keeping Herrera; someone to do the legwork while Pogba concentrates on the numbers. Failing to do either of those things might cost you a genuinely unforgettable season from him in the end, and considering the two games you've had so far this season have seen Pogba as part of a two-man midfield rather than a #10 (which is where his best form came from last season), it's a worrying trend really. But we live in hope.
I doubt they'll get anywhere near that if they want to move them on. Raheem would need to consistently contribute 20 goals 20 assists to justify that price and help City recoup anywhere near that amount.
