Ole Gunnar Solskjaer finally seems to be getting the best out of Paul Pogba in recent weeks.
It’s been almost five years since Paul Pogba rejoined Manchester United from Juventus. From numerous transfer rumours and a noisy agent, to constant abuse from pundits, he hasn’t necessarily enjoyed the easiest time at Old Trafford. The question has always been: When will Pogba find the form he’s shown at Juventus? So is that time finally coming?
A move away looked likely for Paul Pogba at the beginning of 2020, only for coronavirus to halt any club’s transfer plans. At this point, the rumours of Pogba wanting to renew his contract arose. Many fans expected his form to step up from this, however, injuries led to Pogba sitting out a lot of the 2019/20 season, playing only 16 games in the Premier League, scoring one goal and providing three assists.
Moving into the current season, United had a late start and the bare-minimum of a pre-season, leading to a spell of inconsistency, leaving an air of uncertainty over United’s season. Fast-forward to January 2021, Manchester United are sitting first in the Premier League and Paul Pogba is shining in the midfield. He’s been phenomenal in recent weeks.
An established trend of the United lineup this season has been Pogba’s appearances in a wide midfield spot. After United missed out on starboy Jadon Sancho, there’s been some diverse rotations in that spot. One of those that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer seems to favour is the Frenchman. In his time at United, Pogba’s most common role has been more as a deep-lying playmaker, routinely playing as one of two in a 4-2-3-1 formation. In this role, Pogba lacked freedom, frequently having to spend most of his time in his own half and not obtaining much space to attack.
As Pogba adapted to the new role, he started to find great form. The first time we got a glimpse of Pogba on the wing came in the 2-1 victory over Dean Smith’s Aston Villa at Old Trafford. This game demonstrated that Pogba had a whole lot of freedom in his role, completing 77 percent of passes and creating two significant chances.
A few weeks later, Pogba moves back into his deeper role and maintains his excellent form. A Man of the Match performance from the World Cup winner against Burnley saw him get the winner from a spectacular finish. As well as this, he completed 87 percent of pases and created two big chances.
Then once again, in the next Premier League gameweek at Craven Cottage, Pogba gained another goal and Man of the Match award in the 2-1 win over Fulham. His brilliant performance saw him achieve an 85 percent pass accuracy and two successful dribbles.
There is clear improvement in Pogba’s game. When the 27-year-old plays, United are able to progress much further up the field and dominate possession with his creativity and pinpoint passes. With Pogba sitting on the right side, the team visibly progressed up the right flank much more than the left.
Now there could be numerous reasons for Pogba’s incline in performances. One of those could be a positive shift in mentality. With a title push on the horizon, Pogba seems to be the one inspiring it. He has come out to say that he knows the side is capable of clinching the title. They need to start working hard and he believes the team must be ‘arrogant’ to remain top.
He told the club website:
“It’s never enough. We are still far from the trophy. It’s been hard to get here, it’s going to be even harder to stay there.”
Solskjaer is one man who has noticed Pogba’s incredible form recently, saying that he ‘can do everything’. Pogba is becoming the box-to-box midfielder that United have always wanted and Solskjaer can see that. This strong form could be a result of how Solskjaer has handled the unusual situation that Mino Raiola caused.
In December 2020, the midfielder’s agent spoke out, claiming his client’s time at Manchester United was over. This came at a time where United had a huge game the next day, in the Champions League against RB Leipzig.
Under Mourinho, Pogba spent prolonged periods on the bench, refusing to play the star player that cost over 80 million pounds. However, Solskjaer appears to have handled the situation excellently. There has been no unhappiness from the squad and since then, United have climbed to first in the Premier League and Pogba is playing some of his best football in recent years.
Another possibility for this spike in form could be that the team around him are beginning to help Pogba in many ways. With a maestro like Bruno Fernandes playing alongside him and the experience of Edison Cavani being added to the squad, it’s very possible that Pogba is able to develop the right mindset with help from these fantastic players.
As United push for the title and Pogba spurs on the side, we need to see if his robust form continues and if he remains the man to bring home the 21st title. If anyone's been a problem for the opposition in recent weeks, it’s Pogba. Let’s hope this continues!
Originally published for The United Stand.
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