Paul Pogba has already made shocking transfer admission about joining Man City that Man Utd fans won't like

Former Manchester United and Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba is eligible to return to football in 2025 and links to a shock return to Manchester are gathering speed.

Red Devils fans would have divided opinions about United bringing Pogba back to Old Trafford but it's rivals Manchester City who are eager to make a move for the free agent.

Pogba won the Europa League in his second spell with United after a first successful stint at Juventus but if he heads to Manchester for a third time it won't be Stormzy who welcomes Pogback this time.

Pogba's contract was mutually terminated in November to officially end his second spell at Juventus.

The 31-year-old Frenchman has been serving a doping ban since February but can begin training in January and start playing again in March after his ban was reduced from four years on appeal.

Man City have targeted him before. They were one of his options when he left Man Utd in 2022 but it wasn't a sense of loyalty towards his former club that took him Turin instead of replacing Fernandinho in Pep Guardiola's City side. This time, there's no reason for Guardiola not to get his man.

Paul Pogba has emerged as a transfer target for Manchester City (Image credit:Getty)

With Guardliola's City struggling for form in the Premier League and Champions League, a temporary replacement for injured Ballon d'Or winner Rodri is a priority in January. Pogba has emerged as a frontrunner and would have no qualms about signing for United's rivals.

In October, the Daily Mail reported that Pogba's proposed move across Manchester was stymied not by loyalty to his former employers but by his complicated personal circumstances at the time, which included a break-in at his home and an extraordinary turn of events involving his brother and accusations of extortion.

"Honestly, I had a lot of problems," said Pogba. "I had the burglary, I had [a] problem with the extortion. I had to leave Manchester. Let’s say it like this: if I didn’t have that (problems) maybe I would have been at City."

Paul Pogba in action for Juventus (Image credit: Getty)

Pogba's problems continued with a positive doping test in Italy but his imminent return to football and no unrelated reasons to avoid Manchester could pave the way for an opening at the Etihad Stadium to come back around.

It wouldn't be a development United fans would enjoy but City have a need and Pogba, while no guarantee, is a proven quantity.