Pete O'Rourke, Transfer Correspondent

Mon 25 November 2024 13:00, UK

Paul Pogba is not expected to join Newcastle United when he returns to football next year, sources have told Football Insider.

Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, senior correspondent Pete O’Rourke revealed that the idea of Pogba joining the Magpies is a “nonstarter.”

The France international will be able to return to football in March 2025 after the four-year ban he received in September 2023 for a positive drug test was reduced to 18 months.

The 31-year-old is a free agent after reaching an agreement with Juventus to terminate his contract, which has led to speculation about where he will go next.

Well-placed sources have told Football Insider that Pogba’s most likely avenue is a return to France or moving to Saudi Arabia if he gets a “lucrative” offer.

They are all seen as more viable options rather than a return to the Premier League, as Football Insider previously revealed there aren’t many clubs in the English top flight looking at him.

Paul Robinson also doesn’t expect Paul Pogba in a Newcastle United shirt

“That’s kite flying journalism, probably from Paul Pogba or Paul Pogba’s agent,” former Tottenham goalkeeper Paul Robinson told Football Insider.

“[He’s] played eight league games since 2022, you’re going to want an immediate impact.

“He’s going to take time to adjust to get fit again, to get to the levels that’s required for the Premier League.

“You can live off your name for so long.

“He’s not going to walk into a top club and be given an opportunity now because of the way that football is, how fit and strong these players are, the pace the game’s played at.

“He’s going to have to earn his opportunity to play at the top level again.”

In other news, O’Rourke: Newcastle work on deal to sign defender in January.

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