Pogba’s shadow looms over Juve as revitalised Lazio come to town

Paul Pogba’s return to the limelight has blindsided Juventus as the France midfielder has whipped up an unwanted publicity storm just as the Serie A giants were preparing to send him packing.

Juve continue their bid for a first league title in five years against in-form Lazio on Saturday night having already moved on from Pogba, who is counting the days until his doping ban ends in March.

With a new manager and a whole cast of new players, including three big money midfielders, Pogba has become an expensive spare wheel Juve were hoping to quietly unload.

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But the 31-year-old has been bullish since the Court of Arbitration for Sport slashed to 18 months his initial four-year ban for testing positive for testosterone.

He told Gazzetta Dello Sport during a round of interviews — apparently not authorised by Juve — on Wednesday that he wants to stay in Turin even at the cost of cutting his weighty salary.

Since being provisionally suspended in September last year Pogba has been stuck on a minimum wage of just over 2,000 euros ($2,166) a month but his contract is reportedly worth eight million euros a year, plus a potential further two million euros in bonuses.

Those numbers are simply no longer sustainable for Juve, who posted losses of nearly 200 million euros for last season and spent the summer shedding bulk while revamping the team for Thiago Motta.

In the immediate aftermath of CAS’s ruling both Motta and sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli spoke about Pogba in the past tense, saying that he “was a great player” and further fuelling speculation that his contract will be terminated.

Clearly neither Motta nor Giuntoli expect to see Pogba back in a Juve shirt but will now have to continue to field questions about his future at the club where he made his name over a decade ago.

In the middle of all this third-placed Juve are trying to catch league leaders Napoli, whom they trail by three points with league football set to return after the international break.

Juve are level on 13 points with Lazio and have to contend with a host of injuries, including the long-term absence of Brazil defender Gleison Bremer.

Motta is also without Arkadiusz Milik, Nicolas Gonzalez, Teun Koopmeiners and Weston McKennie for Saturday’s match in Turin, while Lazio coach Marco Baroni is sweating on the condition of Pogba’s countryman Matteo Guendouzi.

Lazio are another team who have made a break with the past, with Felipe Anderson, Luis Alberto and all-time top scorer Ciro Immobile all gone and veteran Baroni, 61, impressing at the helm in his first big job.

Napoli are favourites to hold on to top spot at Empoli while Inter Milan travel to Roma on Sunday night, when the hosts should have star man Paulo Dybala back from his latest spell on the sidelines injured.

Player to watch: Davide Frattesi

Fresh from yet another positive outing with the national team, Frattesi returns to his home town of Rome set to play against his former club as Nicolo Barella has not fully recovered from a thigh injury picked up during last month’s Milan derby defeat.

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The 25-year-old Inter star played for both Roma and Lazio during his youth career and came close to signing for the former in 2022, a year before he eventually moved to Inter from Sassuolo.

Frattesi has started more games for Italy than he has for Inter — four to three — this season and his runs from deep and eye for goal will be key for the champions.

Fixtures (times GMT)

Saturday

Como v Parma, Genoa v Bologna (1300), AC Milan v Udinese (1600), Juventus v Lazio (1845)

Sunday

Empoli v Napoli (1030), Lecce v Fiorentina, Venezia v Atalanta (1300), Cagliari v Torino (1600), Roma v Inter Milan (1845)

Monday

Verona v Monza (1845)