Herrera comeback could give Pogba the freedom to flourish once again
LESS than a week after Ander Herrera was presented with the prestigious Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award in May last year, the Basque midfielder was named man-of-the-match as United beat Ajax in the Europa League final to seal a return to European club football’s top table. Fast-forward nine months and, as United prepare for their biggest game on the continent since that emotional win in Stockholm, Herrera’s long-term Old Trafford career looks in jeopardy.
The 28-year-old has completed 90 minutes in the Premier League just twice since early November and his form has suffered as a result of his lack of playing time.
However, while his performances may not particularly warrant a return to the starting XI, manager Jose Mourinho would do well to remember how well Herrera served him last term and hand him another chance.
United’s boss has primarily favoured a rigid 4-2-3-1 formation this season – a set-up that restricts Paul Pogba – but the reintroduction of Herrera alongside Nemanja Matic would allow Mourinho to loosen the shackles on the Frenchman, who performs like a different player on the left side of a midfield three.
It’s where he thrived at Juventus and it’s the position from which he produced his finest display of this season, in the 2-0 win away to Everton in January.
That was the last time Herrera started a match for United in the Premier League, with Mourinho reverting back to a 4-2-3-1 for the
following league game against Stoke. Pogba hasn’t looked himself since.
Spanish enforcer Herrera has been sidelined for the Reds’ last three games due to a minor muscle injury but returned to training yesterday and is expected to be available for tonight’s trip to Seville.
Whether that means Mourinho will select him to start is another matter.
Academy product Scott Mc Tominay appears to have leapfrogged Herrera in the midfield pecking order at Old Trafford, but United’s fans are less convinced by the youngster, and although it is early days in the Lancastrian’s Reds career, starting him in a crucial Champions League away game in a hostile environment would be a big ask.
Herrera, on the other hand, might just be the perfect enabler for Pogba to flourish.