Time for perfect scapegoat Pogba to leave Man United

Manchester United star Paul Pogba may just be the most divisive player in the Premier League.

Since returning to Old Trafford from Juventus in the summer of 2016 after leaving four years earlier to the fury of erstwhile manager Sir Alex Ferguson, the France international has always done just enough to avoid total meltdown, but has never achieved enough to come close to justifying the €90million fee that Man Utd paid for him.

Jamie Carragher has branded Pogba the “most overrated player ever” while fellow pundit Graeme Souness appears to relish attacking a man who is the antithesis of the snarling terrier that he was in his playing days. Pogba is not a player with many allies in the media.

The truth is that Pogba stands as an icon to Man United’s poor transfer policy in the last decade. His qualities are undoubted, but they have not been married to those around him, while his laid-back attitude and big transfer fee have set him up as the perfect scapegoat.

His talent has been evident in seductive flashes, enough to hint that the Red Devils have not found the correct way to handle one of the game’s most mercurial talents. His four assists against Leeds on the opening day of the season suggested a new start for the Frenchman as he moved into the final year of his contract amid his characteristic flurry of Instagram posts.

It was a tantalising taste of what might have been for United fans. His most notable contribution since was a mindless red card against Liverpool, which preceded a hamstring injury that has laid him up since November.

Paul Pogba started the season with four assists in the victory against Leeds but has since struggled with a hamstring injury (Photo: PA)

Rangnick a fresh challenge for Pogba

Pogba will return to a Manchester United where the landscape is very different. Ralf Rangnick has taken charge from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and showed when he replaced Cristiano Ronaldo against Brentford that he will not bow to the egos of the club’s biggest superstars.

Moreover, the interim boss cannot be counted in Pogba’s fan club. While at RB Leipzig, he said he “wouldn’t swap Naby Keita for Pogba”. Additionally, the pressing game that he typically favours and likely wishes to install at Old Trafford in the long run is not suited to the more freewheeling style of the Parisian, whose best football in recent years has been on the international scene.

France head coach Didier Deschamps has found a system that has unlocked the potential of Pogba. The world champions may possess a wealth of offensive talent, but it is best expressed on rapid counterattacks, with the team typically lying deep defensively. Combined with playing alongside N’Golo Kante, this has reduced Pogba’s defensive workload and has minimised the intensity that he has to play with.

Clearly, then, there are solutions to the Pogba problem. Manchester United, though, no longer wish to find one.

Pogba and Man Utd must move on

To get the best from Pogba, he must play in a team that is custom built to accommodate him. Man Utd have shown they have no intention of doing this, for it would mean moving away from an attacking style into one in which they became counterpunchers. This is not a brand of football the club wishes to endorse.

United’s unwillingness to front up to this issue, either by selling him or by constructing a team better suited for him, has resulted in the embarrassing situation in which they will likely lose one of the most expensive players ever for absolutely nothing come the end of the season. If they tie him down to a fresh deal, it will likely be to protect themselves from that embarrassment.

Pogba’s legacy at Manchester United will be one, ultimately, of unfulfilled potential, and that threatens to be the theme for his career. There is time left yet for the 28-year-old to prove that he is one of the greatest midfielders of his generation, but it will not happen at Old Trafford, where he has come to unfairly shoulder the blame for all that goes wrong.