Manchester United legend Paul Scholes believes that Paul Pogba tries to do too much with the ball and tries to emulate Lionel Messi, rather than what he was bought to do. The French international was all over the place against Feyenoord, coming from an equally unimpressive performance against Manchester City last weekend.
The Red Devils suffered their second consecutive defeat, this time in the Europa League, courtesy of a late winner by the Dutch club. The team, which saw a lot of changes from the game against City, failed to live up to expectations, with the likes of Morgan Schneiderlin, Juan Mata and Marcos Rojo failing to live up to the billing. Wayne Rooney did not travel with the squad but is likely to start against Watford this weekend.
Pogba made the headlines this summer owing to his astronomical fee, which smashed the world record transfer for Gareth Bale, but has failed to live up to his game thus far, leading to a lot of scrutiny. Scholes reckons that he is still not sure about his position in the squad and needs to be managed properly to get the best out of him.
Its been a little bit of a struggle for him so far, said Scholes, as quoted by the Daily Mail. Tonight, again, wasnt his best performance. I think it will come. Its still very early days. I dont really know what position hes playing at the minute. Has he got a position? Has he been told to play where he wants? He seems to be a little all over the place at times. I think hes trying to do too much on the ball.
Hes trying to beat three or four players. Hes running with the ball. He should keep it simple for now. Thats not the player Manchester United bought. They didnt buy a Lionel Messi to go and beat five players and stick it in the top corner all the time. They bought a powerful, strong midfield player who can take the ball. Hes got skill, he can pass it forward, he can run.