Jamie Carragher has not joined the likes of Arsene Wenger and Jurgen Klopp in criticising Paul Pogba’s big-money return to Manchester United.
While both managers remain concerned about the hefty pricetag associated with the young French midfielder, Carragher has urged football fans to “forget about the money,” in his Daily Mail column.
There are many cynics that believe Pogba hasn’t done enough to justify eclipsing the previous record transfer fees splashed out on Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo.
“Jose Mourinho hasn’t brought Pogba back to do what Gareth Bale or Cristiano Ronaldo do for Real Madrid,” Carragher writes . “That isn’t his game.”
Rather, the former Liverpool defender believes that people should be focusing on comparisons to the likes of all-time central midfield greats who have graced the Premier League as that is who Pogba should be aiming to replicate.
And Carragher sees no reason why we shouldn’t think that the Red Devils have just bought the man who will become the best midfielder in the world.
“What United have done is buy a young man who has the potential and talent to become the game’s next all-action hero,” he said.
“He can become the greatest midfielder in the world and drive his club back to the top.
“To be a success, however, he is going to find himself compared to midfielders such as Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Yaya Toure, those men who were at the forefront of all the triumphs Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City enjoyed in the modern era.
“They defined what a modern midfielder should be able to do and when you think of the great triumphs their clubs enjoyed – Chelsea winning their first title in 50 years, Liverpool’s first European Cup for 21 years, Manchester City’s first trophy for 35 years – they produced when it mattered.
“This is the challenge facing Pogba: can he drag United forward in the difficult moments? Some people are wondering, having seen him in at Euro 2016, whether he is more hype than substance.”
