The ground-breaking free transfer that Unai Emery can beat Arsenal to and take Aston Villa to next level

Paul Pogba will be available to play football next year. His four-year ban for doping has been reduced to 18 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, making him eligible to return to competitive football in March 2025.

The French World Cup-winning midfielder can start training with a club in January 2025 to get in shape for the new season. However, reports suggest that his current club, Juventus, are in talks with him to terminate his contract, which would make him available on a free transfer.

March is the business end of the season, when the title race and the fight for European spots heat up. Arsenal legend Emmanuel Petit has urged his former club to sign Pogba, knowing full well what the midfielder can bring to the pitch. Bacary Sagna is saying the same thing. Both believe that Pogba could aid their title challenge when he returns in March 2024. They think the Frenchman has the quality to make a difference in the final few months of the season.

While Pogba would undoubtedly improve the Arsenal squad, he would be a better fit for Aston Villa.

The Villans have a good team but need more experience to establish themselves as a consistent top-four club. Having finished fourth last season to secure UEFA Champions League football, Villa started the current season in brilliant form, winning three matches in a row, including a statement victory against European heavyweights Bayern Munich.

Unfortunately, Aston Villa have started to show signs of complacency. They’ve dropped from the top four to 6th in the league table. They were also eliminated from the EFL Cup after a defeat to struggling Crystal Palace and suffered a defeat to CLub Brugge. Unai Emery has what it takes to turn things around, but he will need to make moves in the transfer market to secure another top-four finish, especially with Chelsea looking stronger this season and Manchester United bolstering their squad with the addition of Ruben Amorim.

Paul Pogba would improve the midfield, the most critical area of all of Emery's teams. His versatility means he can play in a double pivot or as a No. 10, adding depth and quality to Villa's midfield.

Boubacar Kamara hasn’t been as effective as a substitute for Amadou Onana in midfield, while Ross Barkley, signed to add depth, has performed only marginally better than. Emery has had to rely heavily on Onana and Youri Tielemans, but these two starters could wear out as the season enters its critical final stages. That’s exactly why Villa need another starting-calibre midfielder.

In the creative department, Morgan Rogers has been a revelation this season. At just 22, he’s already shown great promise, and adding a more experienced player like Pogba to complement him would be a smart move.

On a normal day, a quality player like Pogba rarely becomes available for clubs like Aston Villa, so it would be foolish not to consider him when he’s available on a free transfer.

The Villa environment would also benefit the French midfielder, who will be eager to prove himself after his suspension. Unai Emery is a top coach, known for getting the best out of ageing players with a point to prove. His pragmatic style of play would suit Pogba perfectly, as the midfielder has flourished under managers like Antonio Conte, Massimiliano Allegri, and his national team boss Didier Deschamps. Would it be a huge gamble? Absolutely. Would it be worth taking? It just might be.