Pep Guardiola's title desperation to catch Liverpool sees Man City consider Paul Pogba

Manchester City is interested in striking a deal with free-agent midfielder Paul Pogba once his doping ban ends in March.

Pep Guardiola's team is lagging behind Liverpool in the Premier League title race, with a season-ending injury to talismanic midfielder Rodri exposing fatal flaws in the reigning champions' midfield.

According to the Independent, former Manchester United star Pogba is being considered as a remedy to the solution, that is despite City quickly moving to deny the claim. The Frenchman has not played since September 2023 after being hit with a four-year suspension after failing an anti-doping test.

Pogba was found to have elevated levels of testosterone in his system while playing for Juventus and aged 31, his career appeared to be in serious jeopardy. But his suspension was reduced on appeal to 18 months in October, meaning he will be eligible to return to action in March 2025.

Pogba has since left Juventus and become a free agent, and he has courted interest from Major League Soccer and the Saudi Pro League, although he prefers to continue his career in one of Europe's elite leagues.

City, desperate to revive their hopes of winning a fifth Premier League title in succession, have made inquiries with Pogba about moving to the Etihad Stadium in the new year. However, the 2018 World Cup winner is not interested in a return to Manchester after his mixed experiences at Old Trafford.

Pogba joined United as a 16-year-old in 2009 and made seven first-team appearances under Sir Alex Ferguson before quitting the club in 2012 to sign for Juventus as a free agent, citing what he felt was a lack of first-team opportunities.

The midfielder emerged as a star in Italy, scoring 34 goals in 178 appearances for "The Old Lady". And four years after joining, he headed back to United, signing for then world record transfer fee of $112 million.

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But his return to the Premier League was underwhelming for the most part, scoring 39 times in 226 games as United failed to muster a genuine title challenge in his six-year second term at Old Trafford.

Pogba has played just 12 times since leaving United in 2022, making signing the Frenchman a significant gamble for any interested team, let alone the reigning Premier League champions. But with big problems to fix in the heart of midfield and a nine-point gap to league leaders Liverpool to bridge, it seems Guardiola and City are open to all options.