Pogba to United and Lukaku to Chelsea - has the world gone mad?

Paul Pogba has been linked with a return to Manchester United for the past three transfer windows, however it is only now that the rumours have gathered serious traction and a transfer bid of €100m looks imminent. Likewise Chelsea have been reported to have submitted a bid of around £60m to lure Romelu Lukaku back to Stamford Bridge. Obscene amounts of money for two players who were formerly of their respective bidding clubs.

At 23 years of age the Red Devils are paying for potential, a risky strategy that more often than not fails to bring the expected return. Manchester United have invested in potential before, Anthony Martial for £36m and in Cristiano Ronaldo for £12.24m which at the time was the most expensive teenager in English football history. Martial has shown glimpses of why United paid so much money for him while we already know the journey that Ronaldo went on. For other players it hasn't worked out, Bebe was signed for £7m despite Sir Alex Ferguson admitting that he had never seen the player play.

Not only are United embarking on a very ballsy plan, but is Pogba himself even committed to a return to Old Trafford? Earlier in the summer reports surfaced that the young French midfielder preferred a move to Champions League winners Real Madrid over a return to his old stomping ground. This jeopardised any move that Jose Mourinho wanted to make for the player, even after Zinedine Zidane cooled his interest in the player due to price tag yet the Manchester club seem undeterred.

With Pogba leaving United 4 years ago for less than £1m, the hit on Chelsea's bank balance will not be as great. Lukaku joined Everton permanently in Jose Mourinho's first season back in the English capital for a fee believed to be under £30m, now with a price tag of £60m, the sum of money does not look as bad.

Despite being labelled inconsistent, the Belgian striker has an impressive scoring record at such a young age, 119 club goals at just 23 years of age. Before their 23rd birthday, Thierry Henry had 57, Alan Shearer had 65, Luis Suarez had 77 and Cristiano Ronaldo had 97. It's very easy to see why Antonio Conte would be willing to pay such a high fee. A powerful and athletic player, it was rumoured that Lukaku would replace Diego Costa until the Spanish international's refuted those claims. No matter what team Lukaku plays in, he will score goals. 

Juventus splashed out €90m on Gonzalo Higuain to make him the most expensive South American footballer of all time while the transfer fee was the highest ever paid by an Italian team and also the highest of a player transferring within any domestic league. At 28 years of age, Juventus have got a player who is in his prime and will be likely to get at least 4 years out of the Argentine. Higuain seems a less risky piece of business and than the Pogba debacle, however transfer fees do not take a crippling injury into consideration.

Last season, Higuain fired Napoli to second position in the league, scoring 38 goals in the process. His goal record is incredible, scoring 121 goals in 264 matches for Real Madrid and 91 goals in 146 appearances for Napoli, whom he joined from the former in 2013. This transfer further strengthens the stronghold that the Old Lady has over her competition and the Scudetto title looks likely to be remaining in Turin for the foreseeable future.

I'm not the first person and certainly won't be the last to question whether clubs should be allowed to spend these sums of money. It creates a clear gap between the sides that can afford to splash the cash and those that don't have as much money in the bank, however Leicester proved that money was not everything last year. For me it strains the link between the supporters and the players and as a fan, I can find it hard to relate to any of the players on show.

Despite the Premier League becoming out of touch, transfer fees shouldn't necessarily be capped. Manchester United brought in £27.8m in broadcasting revenue, £65.8m in commercial revenue and also £29.8m in match-day revenue in the third quarter and nine months ended 31 March, equating to £123.4m. With the signing of Ibrahimovic ringing in £76m in shirt sales there is no doubt that United can afford to spend their cash lavishly.

The Paul Pogba deal has dragged on too long and most people are looking the saga to come to a swift end. Even if Pogba remains a Juve player, it is only a matter of time when the €100m mark will be broken.

A Crafty Conte

At the final whistle of Belgium vs Italy last night, Gianluca Vialli commented, "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts" - never could the 59-capped Italian international be more correct. Outgoing national team manager, Antonio Conte dished out a tactical masterclass and he reaped the plaudits of a 2-0 result that not many Italian fans predicted.

Conte opted to play three centre halves, all of which he coached during his stint at Juventus. With willing runners, Matteo Darmian and Andrea Candreva occupying the two wing back roles, they were well versed defensively and attacked when the opportunity arose. Andrea Pirlo, who was the talisman four years ago, was left out of the squad leaving Daniele De Rossi to occupy the withdrawn role while Leonardo Bonucci was also capable of play-making from the back. It was Bonucci who supplied the pin point ball Emanuele Giacherrini to open the scoring half an hour into the match.

In true Italian fashion, they made themselves a very hard nut to crack, often keeping the majority of their players behind the ball. The midfield, consisting of De Rossi, Giacherrini and Marco Parolo, dominated the Belgium's star studded outfit. Parolo and De Rossi in particular were disciplined and kept Kevin de Bruyne and Eden Hazard on a tight leash through out the match. With 56% of the possession, Conte was happy to allow Belgium to have the ball at the back, in favour of keeping their impenetrable shape. Once Belgium did get the ball into dangerous areas, the Italian midfield pressed and were able to win the ball back before calmly playing the ball out of defence. 

Unlike Roy Hodgson, Antonio Conte introduced the pacey Ciro Immobile when Belgium threw caution into the wind and it gave Italy another point of attack. After a loose ball from Belgium Immobile picked the ball up on half way and ran at the defence. After working some space to shoot, the Torino attacker cracked a shot off, only to be matched by a fine save from Thibaut Courtois. In the second minute of added time, Immobile twisted and turned before finding Candreva on the right side of the box. The Lazio player controlled the ball and committed a few Belgian defenders before dinking the ball to Graziano Pelle who fired the ball into the back of the net to give Italy a comfortable victory.

While Italy were a well drilled unit, Belgium were the opposite. They looked disorganised, weak defensively and lacking ideas in the final third. Romelu Lukaku was very poor, with his performance epitomised by his off target shot in the second half after a swift Belgium counter attack. In commentary, Martin Keown summed up the Belgian performance perfectly describing it as 'playing with the handbrake on' and likening it to Manchester United of last season. One shining light was Dries Mertens who replaced Radja Nainggolan on 62 minutes. The Napoli man caused a few problems for the Italian defence with his direct running and on one instance weaved his way to the byline before squaring the ball back into a dangerous area. Not one Belgian player was on the same wave length as Mertens and the Italians cleared easily.

The other game in this group saw Sweden come from behind to draw with the Republic of Ireland. The Irish side will undoubtedly see this as an opportunity missed when Wes Hoolahan curled a half-volley from a Seamus Coleman cross into the back of the net. Sweden equalised thanks to the work of Zlatan Ibrahimovic who fired a ball into the Irish 6 yard box to be deflected into the net by Ciaran Clark. Sweden claim a vital point despite not having a shot on target in the whole game. With the Swedes up next for Italy, Conte will have to adapt his team as it will be expected that they will have more possession than they did against Belgium.

Chelsea fans will have been salivating at the passion showed by Antonio Conte, who takes the reigns in west London at the conclusion of the tournament. Italy now have an excellent chance at proving the doubters wrong and their manager will certainly have the players in the appropriate mindset for challenges ahead.

A Tale of Two Halves

It was definitely a tale of two halves at The Hawthorns tonight as Everton scored 3 unanswered goals to come back from two goals and secure the three points.

Berahino netted at the tail end of a grim first half before doubling their lead through a header from Craig Dawson. A Romelu Lukaku brace and Arouna Kone sent the Toffees away happy.

James Morrison had the first opportunity of the match with a sweetly struck shot that stung the hands of Tim Howard in the Everton goal. It was a tentative start to the match as both sides were happy to exchange possession. There weren't many goal scoring opportunities in the opening and both sides seemed more worried about not letting the other concede.

Everton did look good on the counter and created a lovely move just before the half hour mark. A Ross Barkley dummy made the momentum before finding Deulofeu. The low delivery was textbook, but Barkley couldn't nudge it towards the goal.

The crowd were finally given something to shout about on the cusp of half time. Want-away striker, Saido Berahino broke the deadlock with a shot that squeezed passed Tim Howard in nets after a stray pass from Gareth Barry. A special mention must go to James Morrison for the assist, whose pass was on a six pence. Roberto Martinez will be very disappointed to concede in that manner. The supporters can be forgiven if they fell asleep watching this match, as the quality was equal to a Sunday League game.

The goal sparked Everton into life, as they had managed a few half chances, one of which was a dangerous ball zipped across the six yard box. I speak for a lot of people when I say that I've never wanted a half time whistle to come as quick. Deulofeu and Barkley looked the only players in the first half that were capable of creating something, so both need to be utilised more after the interval.

We had more clear cut opportunities in  the opening 5 minutes than in the whole of the first half. James Morrison's deflected shot fell very kindly to James McClean but he ballooned the shot over the bar. Craig Dawson doubled the Baggies' lead from a header of a Chris Brunt corner, but the marking was absoutely horrendous. Martinez will be keen to thresh out any set piece calamities in preparation for the Merseyside derby on Sunday. Just 27 seconds later, Romelu Lukaku headed Everton back into the game and gave the travelling support some hope.

Berahino had the chance to bury Everton, but superb defending from Brendan Galloway denied the England U21 international. Not long after the chance, the game was levelled. Arouna Kone was played onside by Chris Brunt and he had all the time in the world to slot the ball past Boaz Myhill in goal. Kone's equaliser injected all sorts of confidence into Everton and they looked the more likely to go and find the winner.

A winner was what they got. That man Deulofeu, provided the spark and his ball was latched onto by Lukaku and at the second attempt bundled the ball into he net. It was coming, and it was the former Baggie who came back to haunt his old team. Rickie Lambert was introduced and West Brom resorted to the more familiar tactics of Tony Pulis by lumping the ball up to the big man.

Everton were victorious, but Martinez will still have concerns in the manner the goals were conceding. Going forward, Everton were very good when they got the ball to Deulofeu. The former Barca man assisted twice and delivered a performance that helped change the game on it's head. For Tony Pulis, it will be worrying how his side crumbled despite a two goal lead. Pulis won't be happy, particulary with Everton's first goal and will make his feelings clear to his players.

At half time I didn't think I would be reflecting on a goal fest, but football can be surprising at the best of times. For Everton they face Liverpool on Sunday and West Brom will be looking to make amends against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday.