Jose Mourinho drafted the French midfielder into action just 26 days after he helped his country to win the World Cup.
Paul Pogba was Manchester United’s best player in their opening night Premier League victory over Leicester City but he would not begrudge Luke Shaw the man-of-the-match accolade.
In the final days of a relatively quiet transfer window for United, Pogba was linked with a return to Juventus and his agent Mino Raiola was pushing the narrative that Barcelona wanted him at the Nou Camp. The 25-year-old returned to training with United on Tuesday and was still at the club on Thursday evening when the window closed.
“Pogba was a monster,” Mourinho said after United’s 2-1 win.
“We thought maximum [he would play] 60 minutes, but he managed more than 80….
“With Ander Herrera injured, I had only two options, Scott McTominay or Pogba.
“If I played Scott, I would have two kids and a new player [Fred] in midfield. So I asked Paul and he put himself forward for the team and was very, very good for us.”
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A report in French outlet RMC Sport has offered an insight into Pogba’s mind-set heading into the new season.
Pogba has ‘told his agent’ Raiola that he is not interested in leaving United and insisted he was not looking for a salary increase. He is happy with his lot and focused on replicating his France form at Old Trafford.
Pogba is on £300,000 per week but that is some distance off top earner Alexis Sanchez, who is on £391,000 a week with an extra £75,000 for every game he plays and an annual £1.1m signing-on fee.
Indeed, the report also reveals Pogba’s new focus comes from a conversation he had with France boss Didier Deschamps before the World Cup.
‘At a meeting of the French team last March, Didier Deschamps advised him against clashing with Mourinho. Pogba wants to show that at age 25, he has matured and reached a new level. Crowned with a star of world champion, he also wants to prove that he is able to become the leader of United.’
Early days of 2018/19, still, but Friday night at Old Trafford was a good start.
