Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba has been tipped by transfer expert Duncan Castles to sign a new contract with a special release clause for Real Madrid.
While this is purely hypothetical from Castles, he explains why it could make sense for all parties involved and that a similar move has happened before at Man Utd with David de Gea.
Pogba has long been linked with Real Madrid and it is thought that his £150million asking price has proven an issue for the Spanish giants, who have also considered the likes of Christian Eriksen in that position.
MORE: Police to assist Manchester United in identifying racist Twitter trolls
Castles now thinks United could set Pogba’s release clause a £150m just for one transfer window, and possibly just for one club.
While this opens up the possibility of the France international’s exit, it would at least be on the Red Devils’ specific terms.
“There is another alternative here, which is they do renew Paul Pogba’s contract,” Castles said on the Transfer Window Podcast.
“They give him a pay rise, which he will want and which obviously his agent will want.
“It would give his agent another slice of the pizza and another commission on the deal.
“And then they write into that contract that there’s a defined release clause, possibly only active for one summer.
This is the strategy they used with David de Gea when they last signed him to an improved deal.
“After he had agreed and after they had agreed to sell him to Real Madrid, the deal fell through at the last minute.
“Very soon after that, I think after a couple of months, he signed the deal that he is on at present at Manchester United.
“One of the conditions of signing that deal was ‘I want a defined release clause which allows me to leave to Real Madrid in one year’s time, in a specific window, at a specific period of the summer transfer window, should Madrid choose to buy me again then and should I choose to go’.
“That clause was not activated, partly because Jose Mourinho and Jorge Mendes, David de Gea’s agent, persuaded the player it would be better for his career to remain at Manchester United for that ongoing period and not to agitate to go to Madrid that summer.
“But you could structure a new deal to keep Pogba happier with that set price, let’s say £150m would be the number, that’s the number that’s been associated with what
“Manchester United would be prepared to accept to sell the player at the start of the summer, and you move on from there.”