The onus is squarely on Pogba to be United’s creative threat, which is a different role to the one that brought him success at Juventus

The issue

It is like owning a fancy AGA cooker and only making eggs on toast. Or buying a Ferrari for the school run. When you spend about £100 million on a footballer, you want to make sure he’s performing. Unfortunately for Paul Pogba and Manchester United, things are not going to plan. Here is why.

No 10 role stifles him

In recent games, José Mourinho has played him farther up the pitch, behind the centre forward. Both Antonio Conte and Massimiliano Allegri, at Juventus, felt this was problematic, since it means that he often receives the ball in traffic. He can create space in these conditions, but it often requires multiple touches before he can get off a shot or a pass and by