Fact or Fiction: Has Pogba flopped following United return?

Paul Pogba’s performances following his move to Manchester United were always going to be under scrutiny. It was the longest running transfer saga of the summer and culminated in the Frenchman’s record breaking return to Old Trafford, much to the delight of United fans. Yet, as a result of Pogba’s failure to score world class goal after world class goal with each passing week, the young midfielder has been dubbed a fraud by some, a Vine merchant by others and a waste of money. 

Having forked out £89m for the France international, the pressure was of course on Pogba to make an instant impact and in theory drag United to victory week in, week out. In practice, however, a player doesn’t have the capability to perform such a feat in such a competitive league. That being said, Pogba has been far from an unmitigated failure following his decision to re-join United. 

Granted, he hasn’t been the world beater many perhaps had hoped, suggesting some set the standard of expectation too high for the player, but he’s still impressing in the middle of the park for Jose Mourinho’s side. A WhoScored rating of 7.59 is better than any United player and enough to feature in the current Premier League team of the season. Fans understandably expected more than the two goals scored and one assist from 13 top-flight starts this term, but then there is more to Pogba’s game than contributing in the final third.  

United’s struggles in recent weeks are well-documented, and while the team aren’t playing poorly per se, with weak finishing the primary factor as to why they sit on 21 points, they have won only one of their last eight league games. Given his fee and reputation, though, Pogba often receives the brunt of the criticism, despite those around him failing to deliver. Fellow summer arrival Zlatan Ibrahimovic, for example, has missed more clear-cut goalscoring opportunities (9) than any other player, while only Philippe Coutinho (10.2%) has a worse conversion rate than Ibrahimovic (12.1%) of those to score five or more Premier League goals this season. 

As a team, United have missed the most clear-cut goalscoring opportunities (18) in England’s top tier this term, suggesting their issues lie at the feet of the frontmen. That isn’t to say Pogba can’t help ease the pressure on Mourinho. Indeed, an average of three shots per game is one of the highest returns in the league this season, with the United man evidently confident in his ability to go for goal. The concern here would be Pogba then shirking his creative qualities and being too selfish in front of goal, but that's not been the case. 

Only Alexis Sanchez (34), Roberto Firmino (33) and Kevin De Bruyne (28) have played more key passes from open play than Pogba (26) in the Premier League this season, to reinforce a statistically calculated WhoScored strength of ‘key passes’. His understanding with Ibrahimovic in particular has been far and away United's most frequent route to goal in terms of chance creation, and had the Swede found his shooting boots the statistics of both players would have been far more favourable.

The fact that Pogba has operated from a more withdrawn role than those ahead of him further emphasises his eye for an opportunity to split an opposition defence, with 10 of 13 league starts coming from a deeper role. With that in mind, it’s even more impressive that Pogba has played more accurate through balls (6) than any other Premier League player this season, five of which have come when starting in a deeper midfield role. The ability to pry open a defence when starting further back is tough to master, but a field in which Pogba evidently excels. 

2.6 dribbles per game, which ranks in the top 10 in the Premier League this season, is also an impressive return for Pogba. Once he gains a head of steam, the former Juventus man is difficult to stop and with that return better than any other United player, a willingness to get on the ball and drive the team forward is a boost to the side, given both his ability to force his way past opponents and create for his teammates. Yet it isn’t just his quality on the ball that has helped him gain such a notable rating upon his return to England. 

Pogba maximises his physical stature to deny opponents from breaking forwards, making 1.8 tackles per game, with 1.5 interceptions per game another respectable return. The youngster also ranks fifth for possession won in the midfield third this season (59), further highlighting the work he does off the ball to the benefit of United.  

While there was always going to be ample pressure on Pogba to succeed from the off, to say he has flopped upon his return to United is certainly wide of the mark.