Better Call Paul: How Pogba can return Manchester United to its former glory
Four years after leaving Manchester United as a lanky
19-year-old in pursuit of first-team football, Paul Pogba has blossomed into
something bigger and better than most would have thought possible. Now one of
the most talented midfielders in the world, the Frenchman has just completed
his record-breaking move from Juventus back to Old Trafford – in case you somehow
hadn’t heard yet.
Entertain me here, and let’s ignore the deal’s price tag for
a few minutes. Whether or not the transfer fee is justified, the fact is that
Pogba is back in red and will undoubtedly be thrust right into the starting XI.
While we’re making assumptions, we should establish that the club has no new
signings coming in. José Mourinho cited a desire for four new players, and he
has since acquired them. Now, all he and his staff should care about is how to
perfectly set up the team to win trophies immediately.
So what exactly is
the ideal way to incorporate Pogba into his new team?
The first issue is simply how Mourinho will set up the
midfield. If recent tendencies are anything to go by, United fans should expect
to see a 4-2-3-1 to start the season. Mourinho found success with this
formation during his last spell at Chelsea, using a defensive midfield pairing
of Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas to establish a great balance between defence
and attack. In fact, one could liken Fabregas’ role in that system to what
Mourinho will ask Pogba to do; start in the middle, maybe a bit deeper, but
advance forward to create somewhat of a 4-1-4-1 when in possession. The 4-2-3-1
would be perfect for a player like Morgan Schneiderlin, who is used to it from
his time at Southampton, but would it really bring the best out of Pogba?
A short answer to that is, most likely, ‘no.’ Even thinking
as recently as the European Championships earlier this summer, most pundits
agreed that the 23-year-old was played out of position as one of the two
holding midfielders in France’s 4-2-3-1. At this point in his development, he
does not quite have the technical brilliance to play the #10 role, nor does he
have the defensive acumen to be the true number 6 in a two-man midfield. France
had that problem at the Euros, as did Juventus when they attempted to play him
in a true attacking midfield spot.
On the other hand, if there is any manager who knows how to
maximize the 4-2-3-1, it is Mourinho. A player like Pogba has been known to
make both incisive passes and quality tackles, much like a Michael Carrick of a
few years back. The Frenchman is slightly hampered when forced to stay back,
but he is still capable of success when paired with the right player alongside
him. Pogba in the midfield two needs a workhorse, defensive-minded player to play
with. Daley Blind or even Timothy Fosu-Mensah could pull this off, but
Schneiderlin is the most viable option. He was not world-class by any stretch
in his first season in Manchester, but again, coaching could play a key role in
maximizing his abilities. If Schneiderlin can do the dirty work while Pogba
finds a balance between cleaning up at the back and being attack-minded, the
middle of the park could be a very fruitful area for United, even in this
somewhat foreign formation.
It is undeniable, however, that the 4-3-3 formation would
have the fewest growing pains associated with it, at least for Pogba. At this
point in his career, he isn’t perfectly fit to handle the bulk of his team’s
defensive midfield responsibilities, nor does he have the skill set to be a
team’s sole creator. With his unique combination of strength, skill, and
passing ability, however, he is tailor-made to play one of the true box-to-box
positions in a 4-3-3. In fact, playing in the #8 spot is exactly how he rose to
prominence at Juventus, and it should be how United fans can expect the highest
return on investment for him. He has the dynamism and physicality of a Vieira
or a Yaya Touré, but with even better technical ability can really be a #8 like
no other before him. A player that can aggressively push the ball forward from
midfield to attack with such purpose comes along a couple times a generation,
and United have now got one of those players.
So we’ve established that Pogba should ideally play in a
midfield trio. Where does that leave the lone defensive midfield spot, then?
It is easy to say that a lone #6 in the 4-3-3 formation has
to be a destroyer like Makélélé, but in reality, Mourinho teams work much
better with a more graceful holding midfielder – think back to Matic, or Esteban
Cambiasso, or even Sami Khedira, all intelligent, composed players who had
great success plugging the gap in the 4-3-3. This being said, it is feasible for
Schneiderlin to fit into this role perfectly, with some fine-tuning; he
certainly fits the aforementioned description of intelligence and composure
that his new manager likes so much. Because of his mediocre first season, it is
easy to forget the number of useful defensive actions the Frenchman had every
game while at Southampton, especially in terms of interceptions. If he can
improve his passing consistency to be on par with a player like Matic, United
may be set to excel in a 4-3-3.
Paul Pogba is nothing short of a behemoth. He has great feet
for a player of his size, is competent defensively, and is one of the best in
the world at holding onto the ball under pressure. Last season in Turin, the
Frenchman averaged a goal or assist every 150 minutes – pretty good for a
midfielder also expected to track back on defence. As Mourinho mentioned this
week, this level of production should not see any decline upon a return to
England; in fact, Pogba’s physique is prototypical of a dominant box-to-box
midfielder in the Premier League (again, think Touré, but an inch or so
taller).
Now, the onus is on the coaching staff to ensure that their
world-record signing can be put in the best position possible to justify his
price tag.
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