What do you get for €109 million? It seems the answer depends on who you ask, particularly as the Paul Pogba who is currently struggling to adapt to life back in the Premier League appears to be a very different – and vastly inferior – player to the all-action midfielder who dominated at Juventus last season.
His return to Manchester United after four years in Turin has not been as smooth as he, the supporters, his agent or Jose Mourinho would have hoped. Simply put, the Frenchman is looking increasingly frustrated as he fails to make the same impact in red as he so often did in those famous black and white stripes.
The possible reasons are plentiful, but there may not be a simple solution to them. That world record transfer fee is currently weighing heavily on Pogba, the criticism and analysis of him undoubtedly magnified through the context of him now being the most expensive player in the history of the sport.
“He was a very talented young player, I played with him and I knew how good he was,” former team-mate Paul Scholes said recently. “For that sort of money, you want someone who is going to score 50 goals a season like [Cristiano] Ronaldo or [Lionel] Messi. Pogba is nowhere near there yet.”
First of all, it must be noted that the ex-England international’s statement undoubtedly misses the point that the fee is related to two factors that have little to do with on-field production or an ability to score goals like that duo of superstars. The vast and seemingly limitless potential of the 23-year-old means United paid a premium for the player Pogba could be in the future rather than the one he is today, while his hugely popular image can be marketed worldwide by the club’s relentless merchandising machinery.
But Scholes is not the only former player to slam Pogba in recent weeks, with Jamie Carragher making some particularly scathing criticisms after the derby loss to Manchester City. “For a central midfielder in a game of that magnitude, it was one of the most ill-disciplined performances you will see in the first 40 minutes,” the retired Liverpool defender said on UK tv. “The only way to describe it was like a kid in the school ground. The best player in the school. Does what he wants, runs where he wants.”
WATCH: Jamie Carragher believes Paul Pogba's Manchester derby performance was like a "kid in a schoolyard." https://t.co/jR6v76nUWL
— Sky Sports MNF ⚽️ (@SkySportsMNF) September 12, 2016
However, it was another ex-United man who truly got to the real issue, as a strong case was made for Mourinho to opt for a three-man midfield rather than continuing with the 4-2-3-1 he has deployed since taking charge at Old Trafford. “He’s not someone you would play in a midfield two,” Phil Neville noted. “You don’t want him to be disciplined.”
And there it is, the ultimate answer to what kind of player he is. It is a lesson neither Antonio Conte nor Max Allegri needed to be taught at Juventus, but it is one that has so far failed to be learned by either France boss Didier Deschamps or indeed Mourinho. Pogba, while clearly gifted with technical ability, power and athleticism, is almost exclusively available to deliver those skills from the left of a three-man midfield.
Perhaps that should not be the case, perhaps he should be more flexible and versatile, but wishing he was will not change the reality that he isn’t. It seems ludicrous that he is limited in this fashion, but Euro 2016 showed that Pogba truly struggles even on the right of a midfield three, so much of his impact lessened by being on the “wrong” side of the pitch.
Of course he has played elsewhere, first breaking into the team at Juve as a backup for Andrea Pirlo in the central midfield role of Conte’s trademark 3-5-2 system. That limited him to playing very simple passes and holding a position, providing a reference point for the likes of Claudio Marchisio and Arturo Vidal to run off him while protecting the defence behind him.
As his ability began to shine however, he was soon released from such a shackling task and his ability to break forward but still recover whenever the ball was lost made him a key figure for the Bianconeri. He blossomed when Allegri handed him even greater responsibility last term, charging Marchisio and Sami Khedira to use their immense tactical awareness while Pogba ran free ahead of them.
That is no longer the case with Mourinho in charge, United very much playing to bring the best from men ahead of him in the team, a young core of attacking players looking to deliver the ball to the prolific Zlatan Ibrahimovic. This is very much in-keeping with the Swedish striker’s career, spearheading sides which are built around his talent and often suppressing the natural ability of everyone else in the starting XI.
For now, Pogba is there in a two-man midfield alongside Marouane Fellaini and his impact has been blunted, his natural ability wasted as he is asked to be a holding midfielder. That is something he clearly finds alien, instead wanting to get on the ball, to drive forward and create, both for himself and others.
The 2015/16 campaign saw him register career highs in both goals and assists, the runs from left midfield opening up space to either launch a “Pogboom!” as his powerful shots become known, or slip a pass to the strikers ahead of him. Indeed, if the Portuguese boss wanted to persevere with his 4-2-3-1, there is no denying that Pogba would thrive far more in the band of three behind Zlatan than in the double-pivot role he now finds himself.
Yes he can be frustrating, yes he should be doing more. For all his speed, unpredictability and sparkling personality, Pogba was often guilty of overplaying at times in Turin, but Allegri handled that perfectly too and Mourinho is fully capable of doing the same. However, the latter is also famously stubborn, currently sat repeatedly hammering the most flamboyant of square pegs into the most dour of round holes.
If he wants the best his expensive new star has to offer, then Phil Neville is right. Mourinho needs to remove the training wheels and take off the handbrake. He needs to hand him a freer role and simply let Paul Pogba be Paul Pogba. It’s what he does best.
