POGBA WILL BE A UNITED GIANT
(Well he will be NEXT season..)
Lingard backs team-mate to prove he’s world class
PAUL POGBA has been backed to take the Premier League by storm next season and justify his world-record £89million transfer fee.
Pogba has endured a tough first season back at Manchester United and struggled to escape the view he has underwhelmed, but tomorrow he can help steer the team into the Europa League final and within touching distance of a Champions League place.
The France midfielder has scored seven goals in 48 appearances this season and provided just four assists, with many questioning whether that has been enough given United’s financial outlay.
Supporters of Pogba, boss Jose Mourinho at the forefront of them, are quick to point out the 24-yearold has hit the frame of the goal nine times this season, and claim his goal tally would be higher were it not for such bad luck.
And while Pogba’s goal and assist returns are poor for a player with such pace, power and athleticism, in his defence his United teammates have consistently failed to capitalise on his surging runs and through-balls from midfield.
He was influential in United’s 1-0 win in the Europa League semifinal, first leg at Celta Vigo, playing with authority and composure in midfield.
Ahead of the second leg at Old Trafford tomorrow, winger Jesse Lingard backed Pogba to show he deserves to be hailed as a worldclass talent. “It’s obviously his first year in the Premier League and it was going to take some getting used to,” said Lingard (right).
“It’s the bad luck he’s had this season. We know he’s a world-class player and he’s helped the team a lot.
“I don’t see why he won’t go on next season and score the goals he’s missed this season.
“You see the power he has, the stature he possesses in midfield – no one can get near him.
“And when he plays those through-balls we’re always running for them. We need to finish more of them.”
Pogba, rested at the weekend as United lost 2-0 at Arsenal, will be crucial to their chances of getting through to the Europa League final in Stockholm on May 24. And midfielder Ander Herrera has underlined the importance of United making an immediate return to the Champions League.
With Mourinho having given up on qualifying by finishing in the top four of the Premier League, winning the Europa League represents United’s only realistic hope of returning to Europe’s elite competition.
“The most important thing is to be in the Champions League next season,” said Spaniard Herrera.
“We have two titles, the Community Shield and League Cup, and we can have a very good season if we fight for the Europa League. But we have to be very respectful because Celta are very difficult opponents overall.
“They have scored away in every game they have played in the competition, so we have to be aware of that.
“They are a very good team, very dangerous when they play away and we’ll need our fans at home.
“We really need them to create a good atmosphere, a difficult atmosphere for the opponents, which can push us to be in the final.
“It’s not so easy when you have to play every three to four days and we’re doing that because we’re playing a final, a final and a final.
“We want to have a successful season and this is a crucial moment in it.”