Scholes: Pogba not worth £86M transfer fee

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes isn't convinced former teammate Paul Pogba is worth all the money that's being thrown at him.

United is close to finalising a deal for the 23-year-old Juventus man for a reported fee in the region of £100 million. Agent Mino Raiola's multi-million-pound cut is considered to be the last stumbling block.

But Scholes doesn't see the value in such a transfer, having studied Pogba's character during their brief time together at Old Trafford.

"He was a very talented young player, I played with him and knew how good he was," Scholes told Sport Witness, according Alice McKeegan from the Manchester Evening News. "He played for the first team maybe once or twice, but from my understanding he was asking for too much money.

"For his age, he was asking for far too much money - that too for a player who hasn't played first-team football.

"OK, he has gone on to great things. I think certainly there has been a lot of improvement. He needed to improve if he's going to be a player worth £86 million.

"I just don't think he's worth £86 million. For that sort of money, you want someone who is going to score 50 goals a season like (Cristiano) Ronaldo or (Lionel) Messi. Pogba is nowhere near that kind of money yet."

If the expected sum reaches £100 million, it would eclipse every other transfer in the history of the sport. The current record is the £85 million Real Madrid paid to acquire Gareth Bale from Tottenham in 2013.

Bale and Madrid received similar criticism for the high costs of that deal, but he managed to figure greatly in the club's Champions League success in 2014 and in May this year.

Pogba's story is a little different. He left United in 2012 for Juventus on a free transfer, developing in the intervening years into one of the game's most well-rounded and confident midfielders. He wore the No. 10 - previously graced by Alessandro Del Piero - last season as he helped the Bianconeri to a record fifth consecutive Serie A title.

Pogba, as well as many other Juventus starters, isn't currently with the team in Australia for a round of international friendlies. But manager Massimiliano Allegri seemed to confirm talks with United after Saturday's friendly against Melbourne Victory.

"Pogba is a Juventus player at the moment but we don't know what is going to happen," Allegri told reporters. "The club are looking after negotiations.