Signing Florentin Pogba was a tough task, reveals ATK Mohun Bagan head coach Juan Ferrando

ATK Mohun Bagan have been extremely active in the transfer window with their signings as they have made some great moves and have also created a lot of hype over the signing of Florentin Pogba. However, apart from foreign signings like Pogba and Brendon Hamill, the Mariners have also roped in Ashique Kuruniyan and Asish Rai who can prove to be deadly domestic signings for them in the upcoming season.

When Ferrando came in as ATK Mohun Bagan head coach he understood that defence is an area where he needs to work the most. Hence he tried looking at different options before coming to Pogba. However he shared how it took a lot of convincing to get Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba’s brother to come to India.

Ferrando also shared how he did some background work on Florentin and how his style of play suits perfectly with his philosophy at ATKMB. He shared, “After the AFC Cup matches, we started looking for a left-footed centre-back. Florentin’s attributes were ideal for our style of football. We have been following him, watching his games for his former team and inquired about him in recent months.”

“He is an aggressive defender who can dominate on the pitch. On top of that, he has the ability to help us build up from the back and also take up attacking positions when required,”he added.

Pogba has vast experience of playing in France where he featured for Saint Etienne and with them he played in the Europa League as well. So his caliber as a player is not unknown and hence it is a tremendous signing for Indian Super League as a whole and also for ATK Mohun Bagan as they get to fortify their defence for the upcoming season.

The Spanish tactician revealed how the demand was huge as he had multiple suitors but it was the ATK Mohun Bagan project that intrigued Pogba to come to India. “Definitely, it wasn’t easy to get a player like him, who was actively playing and playing well in the French 2nd division. But once we told him about our club’s vision, philosophy and mentality, and discussed our future goals, Florentin was more than convinced,” Ferrando shared the way he convinced the centre back.

ATK Mohun Bagan have been consistent in their approach as they were the only team to reach the last two semifinals of the ISL and with AFC CUp also a goal, this kind of signing was the need of the hour. Also the Mariners lost their Spanish defender in Tiri due to injury and with matches of AFC Cup coming up they had to work on an alternative as the AFC Cup will resume in September.

Pogba will add a lot of defensive stability and also bring his experience and leadership into play and that will help the Mariners going forward into the upcoming season.