Manchester United at present is the club that has recorded the highest number of draws in the Premier League (six), a run which has seen them slip to 6th in the table , three points behind Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham in 5th and four behind Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal in 4th with 17 games played as United failed to win two consecutive league games until last week since August. This is the reason it wasn’t shocking to see that United’s poor run came with the constant criticism of the club’s players. While Maroune Fellaini and Wayne Rooney have seen most of these criticism, one player who has also faced the wrath of the fans on multiple occasions is no one else but French attacking midfielder Paul Pogba having made a world record (£89 million) move from Juventus to United in the summer.
Pogba’s form is far from what most fans expected considering his inability to hold unto possession (the player to lose possession most often in the Premier League apart from Wilfred Zaha and Diego Costa), taking far too many touches and losing the ball to opponents. That is not all as Pogba’s main problem is the fact that he slow, trying so hard to impress whenever he is with the ball which slows down the pace of United’s game making them easy to read and mark as opponents quickly regroup. Despite all these, what United’s fans are yet to realise is that apart from Zlatan Ibrahimovic who has scored 10 goals in 17 league games , Paul Pogba has been the most important and classic United player this season. To buttress further, a quick glance at the Frenchman’s stats show he is the United player to have completed most passes in the league (957), won most aerial duels (48), completed most take ons (44) and created most chances (30) despite playing 16 games, having missed the season opener at home to Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth due to suspension. The former Le Havre academy player has also scored three goals, providing a further two assists all in the league this season. It doesn’t end there as Pogba has a pass accuracy of 85% with most of them being forward passes.
One man who deserves credit for the Frenchman’s new found impressive form is no one else but his manager Jose Mourinho who stood by him even when his form nosedived opting instead to oblige him the freedom to operate high up the field rather than criticise him, having pushed him forward to the no.10 position , slightly behind Ibrahimovic after playing him in a double pivot role alongside Ander Herrera earlier in the season. With Pogba moved high up the field , ageless Michael Carrick has filled in for the Frenchman in the middle of the park , a system which has given more balance to the team as Pogba was guilty of straying forward at any given opportunity while playing in that position leaving Herrera lonely and isolated with his team vulnerable to opponents counter attacks. Also to be noted is that the Frenchman possesses the shooting accuracy and trickery which makes him dangerous in the opponents 18 yard box, something the former Juventus midfielder has used to great effect against Swansea and in the past three league games.
At 23, it is clear the Frenchman still has a lot to learn to be considered a world class player despite the fact he is the most expensive player in world football, yet this should take nothing away from the fact that Pogba is a game changer on his day as well as one on whose shoulders Jose Mourinho can build his United dynasty, just like Alex Ferguson did with the likes of Gyan Giggs and Paul Scholes during his time at the club.
Stats powered by Opta.
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