Analysing the Importance of Paul Pogba to Massimiliano Allegri's Juventus

This summer Juventus were hit by a rash of high-profile departures.  Carlos Tevez and Fernando Llorente left for Boca Juniors and Sevilla respectively, prompting a retooling that left only one player—Alvaro Morata—from last year's striker pool.

Even more important was the reshuffling of the midfield, which lost Andrea Pirlo to New York City FC and Arturo Vidal to Bayern Munich.

The signings of Pirlo (on a free from AC Millan) and Vidal (for €12.5 million from Bayer Leverkusen) in 2011 were the catalysts of Juve's rise from back-to-back seventh-placed finishes to four-time defending champions.  Pirlo's pinpoint passing keyed Juve's attack, while Vidal's energy and all-round skill was the team's prime mover.

Those departures threw a huge amount of pressure on 22-year-old Paul Pogba.

The young Frenchman is one of the most sought-after players in the game.  A new rumor seems to come up every few weeks.  In October, the Express linked him with Chelsea, Manchester City and former club Manchester United, but named Barcelona as the favorite to land him once their transfer ban ends.  For their part, Juventus have valued him at €100 million, and they could hold out for a fee higher than Gareth Bale's record from 2013.

Between that humungous price tag, the responsibility that comes with his new status as one of Juve's most important midfielders, and the weight of his new No. 10 shirt, Pogba has become one of the most scrutinized footballers in the world—and possibly Juve's most important player.

Why is Pogba so important for coach Massimiliano Allegri?  It all starts not with Pogba, but Vidal.

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Arturo Vidal is a truly exceptional footballer.  Two years ago, this column made the case that he was the best in the world.

Yes, you read that right.  No player combines elite skills as a passer, scorer and defender the way Vidal does.

The effect of that combination on Juve's game was indescribable.  The Bianconeri were able to rely on his goalscoring prowess from the midfield to compensate for the lack of a top forward—and when Tevez arrived, they both became exponentially more dangerous together thanks to his ability to score and pass.  His defensive abilities locked down the midfield, allowing no opponent to get the upper hand.

Vidal's absence has been glaring this year, and it's been exacerbated by a series of injuries to the midfield.  Claudio Marchisio and Sami Khedira were both out until October with leg injuries, leaving Pogba the last man standing of the vaunted Antonio Conte-era midfield in the first six weeks of the season.  He was forced to try to form on-the-fly chemistry with the likes of Hernanes, Simone Padoin, Stefano Sturaro and Mario Lemina.

While the latter two of that group have incredible potential and could be major parts of Juve's midfield in time, none of them are on the level of either Pogba or Vidal (or Marchisio or Khedira, for that matter).

For those first six weeks of the season, Pogba obviously felt the pressure.  He was trying to do everything, to score three goals with one kick.  His form showed that.  He gave the ball away, his passing was wayward, and his shooting, often so devastating from range, was badly off target.

The return of Khedira and Marchisio has done much to rectify the situation.  Pogba is far more grounded out there when he has the two older men around him.  With them, he has settled in and started to display the form that has made him so sought-after in the first place.  His sublime assist against Borussia Monchengladbach—an inch-perfect diagonal loft to Stephan Lichtsteiner—is a sign that he's finally started to gain traction.

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There are things that Vidal can do that Pogba can't match.  While he is a good defender, Vidal is still far ahead of him.  If you do the math based on his statistics at WhoScored.com, he averaged 4.375 tackles per match in the league over his four seasons.  Including this season, Pogba's numbers as a Juventus player only average out to 2.15 per match, including the first part of this season.

It's almost impossible to match the all-around production of a player like Vidal.  Pogba is quality in his own way, but he has to use that way to fill Vidal's shoes.

Pogba is the closest Allegri has to what Vidal could bring—and now he has to use his talents to fix the void that Vidal left when he returned to Germany.  Khedira and Marchisio are good players, but Pogba is the better player—and he's not even close to his ceiling yet.

Without Vidal, Juventus' midfield took a huge hit.  That production was incredibly important, and Pogba is key to replacing it.  If he does, Juve have a chance to actually climb the table and make a real run at defending their title.  If he doesn't, they'll be scrapping for the Champions League.