A player ora poser, footballer or fraud .. high time United called Pogba’s bluff

IT is high time Manchester United – whether that be Jose Mourinho or Ed Woodward or the Glazers or the wolves of Wall Street or all of them – called Paul Pogba’s bluff.

Sit him down, put a new contract on the table and ask him what he wants to be.

A man or an emoji-loving, socialmedia mouse.

A legend or video-game totem.

A player or a poser, a footballer or a fraud.

A leader or a follower, a peerless performer or a prancer, the bald truth or just another haircut.

It is time United told Pogba – one of the most prodigiously gifted operators of his generation – to stop messing about.

Time they told him that turning it on when you are behind the eightball now and again – like against Newcastle this season and Manchester City last season – simply does not cut it.

Time they told him he could be so good for United, he might one day have a statue outside Old Trafford.

Time they told him his name could trip off the tongues that speak of modern-day United heroes such as Robson, Keane, Ronaldo and Rooney.

Pogba is that good, I promise you.

I have been an advocate of United letting him go, have been as frustrated with his posturing as anybody, as tired of his egocentricity as the next man or woman, as bored of his hinting at a move to Spain as everyone.

Yet he remains not just a game-changer, but a game-grabber.

By the throat.

As those in the know, a who like to patronise those of us out of the know, would say… he’s a player, make no mistake.

But a player is all he will be if he flits from one big earner to another.

The whole United scenario is a complex one right now, mainly down to having a head coach who lives in a hotel room, often looks like he hates being anywhere near the place and behaves pretty daftly at times.

And one that seems to have suddenly decided Pogba is not captaincy material.

Pogba certainly performed like a captain in that second half against Newcastle.

OK, it was only Newcastle, but that fightback should remain startling evidence that the Frenchman can still be a towering force under Mourinho.

A few more of these performances would persuade even the most ardent grudge-holder to again change his mind on the captaincy issue.

Pogba has this season and two more left on his Old Trafford contract.

In offering him a new deal now, it would not be giving him a reward he ill-deserves.

It would be asking him if he fancies being the long-term future of a great club, a footballing institution.

If he does not, then fine. And if his contributions continue to be erratic and his dynamic with the coach continues to be troublesome, consider any offers next summer.

But there lies a magnificent talent in Pogba, one that could, just could, eventually give him a place alongside Old Trafford’s greats.

That day is a long way off, but it is high time United found out if Pogba wants that day to arrive.