“I just went for a holiday and I came back home. I think it’s destiny. I didn’t finish what I started here so I came to finish it.”
That was Paul Pogba’s opening line to the club’s in-house television channel upon his sensational return to Manchester United 558 days ago.
Eighteen months on and the mercurial midfielder’s recent performances have been that of a player who’s gone back on vacation.
Apparently he wants out of Old Trafford for a second time, if speculation is to be believed. Although United fans would be wise to guard against sensationalism, they should also rightly be worried.
Pogba is a sensational talent and during his second coming as a Red Devil he’s delivered flashes of brilliance that show he could be United’s new saviour.
Spectacular strikes against Fenerbahce, Swansea and West Ham. The vital opening goal as Ajax were swept aside in the Europa League final last May. Nine assists place him third in the Premier League this season in that department.
Meanwhile, his languid, rangy style that allows him to glide past opponents and quickly set up attacks is a welcome addition to United’s midfield.
You can argue that Jose Mourinho is not getting the best out of the man who was the most expensive player in the world when United brought him back to Manchester in August 2017.
Jose Mourinho and Paul Pogba talk tactics during defeat to Tottenham – he was later taken off.
It’s no secret that he prefers to play in a midfield three and evidence is clear from his time at Juventus that he thrived on the left of a Bianconeri midfield trio.
It seems strange then to part with an eye-watering £89m (Dh461.1m) and not play that player in his best position.
On top of that, Pogba is being shackled by having to play as one of the two deep lying midfielders in Mourinho’s favoured 4-2-3-1, asked to complete defensive tasks on top of being required to contribute in attack.
Although Nemanja Matic has largely proved an excellent signing, he’s looked exhausted in recent weeks. Alongside David De Gea, the 29-year-old has made more Premier League starts than anyone else (27) while only Romelu Lukaku, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford have featured in more games.
If Mourinho is to persist with this formation, he needs to bring someone in this summer to both replace the retiring Michael Carrick and play alongside Matic, thus releasing Pogba to be the creative spark.
Ander Herrera – last season’s player of the season – has fallen drastically out of favour under Mourinho and his confidence might never recover.
However, there’s also a case to be made that a player as prodigiously gifted as the 24-year-old Frenchman should easily be able to adjust and adapt to a slightly alternate position.
For all the criticism of Pogba’s pitiful form that can be pointed Mourinho’s way, treatment of his star player has been justified in recent weeks.
Substituted in United’s past two away games against Tottenham and Newcastle and dropped to the bench for the 2-0 home win against Huddersfield, Mourinho deserves praise for not showing favouritism towards the club’s record signing – something he was accused of last season – and trying to coax a reaction.
It won’t be lost on United fans that Pogba’s poor displays have coincided with Alexis Sanchez’s arrival – with the flamboyant Frenchman’s ego reportedly bruised by being asked to take on extra defensive duties while Sanchez is given free rein to roam, something normally afforded to him.
Whisperings that Sanchez has overtaken Pogba as United’s highest earner will have left him feeling cool on the Chilean’s arrival.
But, if Pogba’s slump is at all linked to having to share some of the limelight with his new team-mate, then it’s abundantly clear why Mourinho felt his squad needed a little more sprinkling of stardust.
In the last three games, Pogba’s numbers for goals, assists and key passes reads zero. In the three games prior to that (wins of 1-0, 3-0 and 2-0 against Burnley, Stoke and Everton respectively) he registered 12 key passes.
He’s made one tackle, one interception, eight dribbles and taken three shots and the amount of passes in each game (49, 33 and 38) against Newcastle, Huddersfield and Spurs were fewer than in all but one other Premier League outing this season.
Contrast that with Sanchez’s start to life at United. In the same three league games he’s made five key passes and scored one goal. He’s made seven tackles, two interceptions, 17 dribbles and taken nine shots. He’s made 46, 78 and 52 passes against the same opposition – 56 more than Pogba.
Sanchez has recorded more passes in his first three appearances for the Red Devils than in nine of his 19 previous league games this season for Arsenal. However, it’s pretty clear to see who’s a saint and who’s a sinner.
In fairness to the Frenchman, it would be remiss to point out he has spent 116 less minutes on the field. Then again, Jesse Lingard and Herrera have played less league minutes but both have a better pass accuracy.
Ultimately, what happens from here on out is up to Pogba. If he wants to become a United god – something else he professed to MUTV about – he’s got to rise to the challenge.
Pogba scored the crucial first goal as United beat Ajax to win a first Europa League title.
“The thing with me is I only think about the pitch. I want to be great, I want to be one of the best, I want to win titles. That’s why I came here, to become one of the best. To win titles, because this club has to win titles,” he said in that first interview.
He was instrumental in United winning the Europa League last season – the one major trophy that had eluded the club’s clutches.
But if Pogba truly wants to charter his way into the annals of United folklore and be held in the same regard as Duncan Edwards, Bobby Charlton, George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo, he must take a team still very much in transition and be its leader.
With Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement, the curtain was brought down on the most successful era in United’s history. In the intervening years they have performed like a bunch of theatre actors struggling to hold the company together.
Yet the stage is still set for Pogba. He must decide whether he wants his United career to be remembered as a comedy of errors or as the leading man who restored a famous institution to former glories.
