MARTIN SAMUEL ON POGBA:

YAYA TOURE was naming his best XI this week. He picked a threeman defence, with Andres Iniesta the holding midfielder. His right wingback was Leroy Sane, his left wing-back was Thierry Henry. Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero were in central midfield, so he could accommodate Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto’o up front.

Toure is one of those who understands why Paul Pogba would be devastated at being asked to defend. Maybe he’d like to manage Manchester United.

Pogba is offering ringing endorsements of ole Gunnar Solkjaer, privately and publicly, now he is free of defensive shackles. His brother Mathias, a third-tier footballer in France, was even more direct. ‘ The problem was Jose Mourinho right down the line,’ he said. ‘I know my brother, you tell him, “Go — go play”, the rest he will do.’

Go play. The emptiest words in football’s lexicon. Messi can go play. Cristiano Ronaldo can go play. Most of those in Toure’s XI could, too. But Pogba? He’s a central midfielder. There has to be discipline and responsibility in his game, or the team falls apart. There will be times when he must track, or defend. If Solskjaer is winning hearts and minds at Manchester United with empty promises about just going out and playing, it is a matter of time before he comes unstuck.

It almost happened at Wembley on Sunday. The result and performance were a triumph for Solskjaer but he will know that with better finishing from Tottenham in the second half he could have lost — and part of the reason was Pogba decided to just play.

There were 43 minutes gone when Tottenham lost Moussa Sissoko. Until that point he had been keeping a steady eye on Pogba, but within a minute of his departure, the Manchester United man played the pass of the game to put in Marcus Rashford for United’s goal.

Without a defensive midfield detail to guard him, it seemed Pogba might run riot in the second half — instead he as good as knocked off. He barely tracked back, he lost the ball in positions that launched Tottenham counterattacks — and David de Gea ended up saving United.

THERE were some outstanding, dutiful defensive performances to earn three points, but Pogba’s was not among them. Yet after the game he was lauded, and lauded Solskjaer in turn, too. Increasingly, we hear United’s players want the caretaker to get the job. No doubt they do if the mantra is go play.

‘ I had to defend too much before,’ Pogba explained. ‘This is my position. The manager tells me to get in the box and score goals. The best example is Frank Lampard.’

Is it? Pogba has 58 goals in his entire career. Lampard got more than that in any three seasons added together between 2004-05 and 2009-10. He also matched Pogba’s total in just the final five seasons of his career, including his time in New York and as a sub with Manchester City. Pogba has never scored more than eight goals in any league season. Lampard beat that total for 10 years straight. He averaged a goal every 3.07 games for Chelsea; Pogba one every 5.23 for Juventus, even before Mourinho put on the brakes.

So Pogba is a midfield player. A very fine one, capable of playing a match- winning pass and dominating big matches, but a midfield player nonetheless. He doesn’t get a free rein. He doesn’t get to go play. He has to do his work, and follow his man when necessary — particularly in a team that already includes three forwards in Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and, when he is fit, Alexis Sanchez.

For if Pogba doesn’t do his shift then that attitude will spread and if Solskjaer isn’t prepared to tell him the truth about his role, then he’s not the man for the job. Sir Alex Ferguson didn’t require anyone to just play: not Paul Scholes, not Ryan Giggs, not even Ronaldo.