France coach, Didier Deschamps has defended Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba, suggesting that he can’t be happy with his situation at Old Trafford.
Pogba who committed a penalty that gave Arsenal a 1-0 victory in their last home game has been dropped for five of the last seven games of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer‘s side across all competitions This is coming amid rampant speculation that the manager’s job is on the line. At least he should get another breather after a 3-1 win over Everton at the Gosisson Park.
While noting that Pogba hadn’t played for a while, Deschamp, who is 1998 world cup winner said such a situation might have made the midfielder unhappy, or maybe it was his positioning.
Speaking at a news conference on Monday ahead of Wednesday’s friendly against Finland and two upcoming UEFA Nations League matches at Portugal and against Sweden, the men’s national team manager admitted that Pogba is not having the best time at Old Trafford.
Pogba was not part of the match squad for United’s 3-1 win against Everton last Saturday. But he was a late substitute in last week’s 2-1 Champions League group stage loss to Istanbul Basaksehir.
Although he admitted to a “stupid mistake” against Arsenal, he seemed to be punished by a manager under immense pressure for it.
United currently sit on 14th place in the Premier League standings going into the international break.
“He is not having the best of time. He has had injuries. He was hit quite hard by [a coronavirus positive test in September],”
“He needs to get his rhythm and his fitness back. Last month, he had a good game [for France] despite a lack of rhythm.
“He has played since but we can’t say that he is satisfied. With me, there is no problems, I will look after him,” Deschamps said.
Pogba could impress under Deschamps to pass a message to Solksjaer at Old Trafford
Pogba was given his national team debut by Deschamp in 2013. The pair has had a strong relationship.
Pogba, who scored in the world cup finals against Croatia in 2018 was a key figure in France’s triumph in Russia has seen his form for Les Bleus often rated more favourably than for his club.
This is now an opportunity for Pogba to play at least another 90 minutes of football and pass a strong message to Solksjaer that he is ready to maintain his composure and be an important player in the squad.
After having an underwhelming performance against Arsenal, Pogba seemed to have been made the scapegoat.
All the 27-year-old world cup winner have to do is to shun out impressive performance for the Les Blues, and he has three games to do so.
With such a huge amount paid by Man United after losing him to Juve for free, huge pressure continues to pile on he lad. All his troubles need to be put aside and focus on football. Having a bad outing for Les Blues in the next one week won’t help his case at United.
“It is never easy for a player in his position. I will speak to him. I know him well. Things will go well, even if he always has to perform as well as possible,” added Deschamps.
Having a tete-a-tete with Pogba could reshape his season and he could become the player United has ever want him to be as his talent has never been in doubt.
