What will it take for Manchester United to unlock the international Paul Pogba?

It’s quite difficult to understand the nature of Paul Pogba’s game for a Manchester United supporter. For someone who has been the mover and shaker for France at Euro 2020, his influence in a red shirt since arriving in 2016 has been cold, to say the least.

You see there’s always going to be a notion that the midfielder is dissipating his talent at Manchester United. On the contrary, his performance under Didier Deschamps has been nothing short of any dominion.

The apparent picture at hand for the aforementioned needs no mentioning whatsoever. While playing for Les Bleus, Pogba is unconfined as was evident during his Man of the Match display against Germany and then a similar performance against Portugal in the group stage. And that is down to one predominant facet.

The Presence of N’Golo Kante

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Paul Pogba has enjoyed fruitful outings whenever lined alongside Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante. In fact, the duo’s record for France speaks volume.

They have played 30 games together for Les Bleus and are unbeaten in all of them, winning 22 while drawing eight.

Kante’s willingness to do the running and dive in for challenges means Pogba has more freedom to work on the offensive front.

Against Portugal, 96 of his 99 attempted passes found the man and this figure was significantly more than his closest competitor; Kante (64) himself.

The French model suits Pogba as his services are being converted more often than not. Against Germany, it was his ball that led to Mats Hummels’ own goal, while against Portugal, there were several moments of majesty.

Kante’s presence is a testament to the fact that one man can change the facet, and Pogba is relishing the opportunity.

Problems at Manchester United

Manchester United do not have Kante. As simple as that. The idea of signing Paul Pogba back in 2016 was to make United a creative force.

Over the years though, things haven’t really panned out well for both parties. During Mourinho’s reign, there was a personal rift, while under Ole Gunnar-Solskjaer, the midfielder is often finding himself playing in unfamiliar territory.

Last season, a whopping 16 of his 42 appearances came as a defensive midfielder. Furthermore, he played as many as ten matches as a left-sided midfielder. This was bound to bring his productivity down. But can you really blame Solskjaer for that?

However extreme shifts the likes of Fred and Scott McTominay can put in, there’s always this uncertainty over their reliability, meaning that Pogba has to move back and feed in balls from the deep.

It’s been more than four years since Paul Pogba became the world’s most expensive player. And while the price is still haunting him, it is enough time to assert the claim. On the contrary, though, both the player and the management remain unclear over the midfielder’s role.

What can Manchester United do?

The issue at Manchester United is the conflict of interest. The position Pogba would want to occupy is successfully acquired by Bruno Fernandes.

It’s not that the pair has no trust between them. They have, in fact, formed a brilliant partnership, but accommodating Pogba in such a setup has become a difficulty for Solksjaer.

One simple insight anybody can offer is to get a reliable defensive midfielder. Someone who can be trusted to do the dirty deeds.

Leicester City’s Wilfried Ndidi has become a favourite amongst Manchester United’s supporters, but there are technical concerns over his passing, while his injury record is something that the club will have to keep in mind too.

Or one thing Solskjaer can try out in the pre-season camp is to work on different approaches. The Norwegian has never shied away from deploying different formations, and this has bore fruit more often than not.

The comeback against PSG in the Champions League was done with a three-man defence, while a 5-0 thrashing of RB Leipzig in the group stage last season was a diamond 4-1-2-1-2.

This approach can help Solskjaer use both Fred and McTominay which will allow Pogba to run the game from the middle. Fernandes and the two forwards can then work their way up.

But then again, a 4-1-2-1-2 setup will have no width whatsoever and if United do end up signing Jadon Sancho, there will be no practical place for the winger in this.

There are several such outlooks for Solskjaer to try and hence, the pre-season camp would be of utmost importance. Paul Pogba finds himself at a crossroad at the moment. He’s set to enter the final year of his contract and the United coaching staff need to make a decision.

Should they let him leave for good? Because let’s face it, after his Euro 2020 heroics, there will be no shortage of suitors. Or should they bring in better reinforcement to accommodate a place for him?