Not surprisingly, but this time too, United spent a staggering cash to bring in the players like Eric Bailly from Villarreal, Henrikh Mkhitaryan from Borussia Dortmund and yes, Paul Pogba from Juventus.
Talking particularly, Manchester United’s prodigal son, Paul Pogba, has arrived at the Theatre of Dreams with a lot of expectations and even though he has played just two games, fans are already tipping him for the “legendary” spot. Well, to be perfectly fair here, after the departure of Roy Keane and Paul Scholes, the devils have failed to fill the midfield void.
Many players came, but no one actually bettered or even reached the stature of those old-school experts. Back then, Manchester United was a complete squad, to say the least. A perfect combination of defense-central midfield was what they had, but the sport has changed, it has changed drastically now and no one, yes, no one can replicate what those men did for their club.
Well, right before Pogba arrived, United had Michael Carrick, Morgan Schneiderlin, Ander Herrera, Marouane Fellaini and Bastian Schweinsteiger, but this battalion seemingly lacked what Pogba has in him. Carrick has the ability to read the game but lacks pace. Both Schneiderlin and Schweinsteiger are struggling from inconsistency and well, Fellaini is a lost case until now. Herrera is improving but United can’t wait till he becomes a world class talent.
Then came Pogba’s arrival which reinforced the midfield. In his very first game, the Frenchman was supposed to play a small role in the game, but he did the unexpected. Zlatan may have got the goal and praise, but the Frenchman was unarguably the best performer on the day. He was spotted all over the pitch; he covered every single grass and was highly appreciated by the pundits as well.
We have seen players failing in the Premier League, and I’m not saying Pogba will be the one; my point here is; it is too early to judge him for the stature. Or maybe he is not the next Paul Scholes or the next Roy Keane, he’s just a new Paul Pogba for the Theatre of Dreams. The 23-year-old is asserting his new authority in front of the spectators and again, it has just been two games, but looking at his performance and his stats, he can really set a new benchmark at the Old Trafford.
Pogba is a complete package with a perfect mixture of technique and work rate. He can help his side in defence, he can solely join the attacks and can be a serious threat as his shots are undoubtedly venomous. Well, it can be said that just like Roy Keane and Paul Scholes, Pogba will be an engine for the team, who will supply the attacks through his threatening through balls in the final third.
He certainly possesses some traits similar to those United legends, but as mentioned earlier, the way football was played back then was different than how it is played today. Pogba, unlike Keane, is a modern box-to-box midfielder and certainly do not possess the aggression they had. Hence, I sincerely rest my case with the point I started; Pogba isn’t the new Roy Keane or new Paul Scholes, he is “A New Benchmark” for the Old Trafford crowd.
