Graeme Souness has made it abundantly clear over the past 18 months that he’s not a huge admirer of Paul Pogba.
The Liverpool legend has a real bee in his bonnet about the French midfielder, who returned to Old Trafford for a world-record £89.3 million fee in August 2016, berating him on numerous occasions both on television and via the written press.
Indeed, Souness wrote a column for The Times today in which he stated his belief that Pogba doesn’t know how to play in a midfield two.
"(Pogba) still doesn’t understand what is required to play that position properly,” Souness wrote. "Pogba simply cannot be one of two in central midfield. You cannot rely on him. Against the lesser teams you’ll get away with it, but against the better teams you’re not going to.
"He plays like a schoolboy running after the ball in the playground.”
Pogba brought back to starting line-up v Newcastle
Despite Souness’s opinion, Pogba was again named in a midfield two for United’s Premier League clash against Newcastle at St James’ Park this afternoon.
The France international, making his 50th Premier League appearance for the Red Devils, lined up alongside Nemanja Matic in central midfield.
"I think he deserves to play,” Mourinho told Sky before the match. “He had a good 30 minutes in the last match, he had a good week of work. Normally he’s a starting player for our team, so he’s back to what I would call normality"
Pogba was dropped to the bench for United’s 2-0 win over Huddersfield Town last weekend following his poor performance against Tottenham at Wembley, but returned to the starting line-up against Rafael Benitez’s side.
Henry speaks truth about Pogba in front of Sounds Providing punditry on this match for Sky Sports were Thierry Henry and, you guessed it, Pogba’s biggest critic Souness.
Unlike Souness, Henry is a fan of his compatriot, Pogba.
And the Premier League legend spoke the truth about Pogba, in front of Souness, prior to kick-off…
“When you have quality, people expect you to do wonders,” he said. “In France people love him, he’s not a holding midfielder. Does he have an impact on the game of a holding midfielder? No. Is he N'Golo Kanté, no. Pogba has more in his DNA to be up there, to create.
“Pogba needs to adapt and be efficient, but he’s not a holding midfielder.”
It’s so true;
Henry's point about Pogba is a fair one
What Souness fails to acknowledge is that Mourinho isn’t playing Pogba in his best position.
Pogba flourished at Juventus playing off the left-hand side in a midfield three, where he was given freedom to roam forward and not worry too much about his defensive responsibilities.
As Henry says, he’s not a midfield destroyer N’Golo Kante. He’s a box-to-box player capable of winning matches with his quality in the final third of the pitch.
Has Thierry Henry nailed it about Paul Pogba? Have your say by leaving a comment below.
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