Pogba issue still hanging over Manchester United
manchester — Manchester United may wonder which Paul Pogba is going to turn up when struggling West Bromwich Albion visit Old Trafford in the Premier League on Sunday.
Will it be the player who has disappointed for much of the season, or the one who lived up to his £89 million ($126 million) price tag for once with a match-changing second-half display against Manchester City last weekend.
Pogba scored twice in three minutes at the Etihad Stadium as United turned a two-goal deficit into a 3-2 victory, and in doing so forced their rivals to wait a little longer to secure the Premier League title.
Yet all that brilliance came after an opening 45 minutes that had been more typical of his club form this season; out of sorts, misplacing passes and lacking in verve.
When he is good, he is among the very best attacking midfielders in the world, but United have seen that form all too rarely of late.
Pogba’s working relationship with Jose Mourinho has been picked over repeatedly in recent months for clues as to why that is.
The United manager has rejected the idea that the midfielder is still suffering the effects of a hamstring injury picked up in September, which kept him out for two months.
So if the problem is not physical, the implication is that it must be psychological. On that front, Mourinho dismissed as “lies” reports in February that the French star wanted to leave United.
However, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola then claimed a week ago that Pogba had been offered to his club in January by agent Mino Raiola.
Whatever actually happened there, it did nothing to suggest that all was harmonious between Pogba and United.
France coach Didier Deschamps had already come to a similar conclusion, saying at the end of March that he did not believe the former Juventus player was happy at Old Trafford. —