Italian icon Alessandro Del Piero believes Paul Pogba's impending return to Juventus will have a positive impact on Italian football.
Pogba, who will officially leave Manchester United when his contract expires on June 30, is understood to be close to sealing a return to Juventus on a free transfer. It will be the second time that he has joined the Serie A giants, following his first stint in Turin between 2012 and 2016.
The midfielder openly criticised United in his new Amazon Prime documentary despite failing to ever live up to expectations during his second stint as a United player, helping the club win just two trophies. His performances often blew hot and cold and the supporters, following his recent remarks, are glad to see the back of him.
READ MORE: United are missing an opportunity to boost their transfer budget
But although Pogba never justified United's decision to re-sign him for a record-breaking £89million fee six years ago, former Juventus star Del Piero believes the Frenchman has the potential to improve the standard of Italian football. He also believes Romelu Lukaku will have the same impact, should he seal a return to Inter Milan on loan from Chelsea, less than a year after he returned to Stamford Bridge.
"Now the Premier League is the best football you can see in terms of number of teams that can perform at a high level and what happened in the Champions League and in the Europa League how they performed is the answer," Del Piero told ESPN, as quoted by Football Italia.
"It's a different kind of sport in some moments. It seems in the Premier League you run more, you have more physicality, you are more spectacular. It's not exactly like this because in Italy we have this kind of thing, but Italy is struggling now: the national team and also in the club teams.
"So last season showed a little bit more. Roma's win [in the Europa Conference League] is a good hope for the future in the Europa competitions. So Lukaku for Inter and Pogba for Juve could be a great move also for Italian football to become again stronger and have a voice in the Champions League especially."
Pogba, who will have aspirations of helping France retain their World Cup crown later this year in Qatar, made 178 appearances during his first stint as a Juventus player, scoring 34 goals and grabbing 40 assists. He also helped the club win eight major trophies, including four successive Serie A titles.
Sign up to our United newsletter so you never miss an update from Old Trafford this season.
READ NEXT:
- Richard Arnold ended a Manchester United problem with simple gesture Ed Woodward never made
- Manchester United have six young players who could benefit from transfer market struggles
- Manchester United issue response to viral footage of Richard Arnold meeting with fans
- Mitchell van der Gaag will solve biggest problem in Manchester United dressing room
- How Manchester United could line up in the Europa League under Erik ten Hag
