The jury may still be out on Paul Pogba’s contributions to Manchester United’s season, with Jamie Carragher this week claiming it was Zlatan Ibrahimovic, rather than the Frenchman, who was “carrying” the club.

Pogba returned to Old Trafford in the summer in a world record £89m deal, just four years after leaving on a free transfer to Juventus and looked bright on his second debut for the club.

The Frenchman took time to settle as Jose Mourinho searched for his best position but has has seven goals and three assists this season.

EFL Cup final ratings Show all 22 1 /22 EFL Cup final ratings EFL Cup final ratings David de Gea - 7 out of 10 Had no answer to Gabbiadini's strikes, but made good first half saves to deny Tadic and Ward-Prowse. EFL Cup final ratings Antonio Valencia - 6 out of 10 Was given a difficult afternoon by Redmond, but utilised his experience as the game grew old. EFL Cup final ratings Eric Bailly - 6 out of 10 A shaky start in which he was troubled by Bertrand's pace. Another who improved in the second half. EFL Cup final ratings Chris Smalling - 7 out of 10 Had his hands full with Gabbiadini, but demonstrated fine positioning and awareness. EFL Cup final ratings Marcos Rojo - 5 out of 10 Uncomfortable at left-back although he was pivotal in laying on Lingard's goal. EFL Cup final ratings Ander Herrera - 8 out of 10 Oozes class at times, emphasised by his pinpoint cross for the winner. Occasionally guilty of chasing the game. EFL Cup final ratings Paul Pogba - 6 out of 10 Fielded in a deeper midfield role, his bursting runs were impressive but few and far between. EFL Cup final ratings Juan Mata - 5 out of 10 Saw little action and was replaced at the break for the more positioned-minded Carrick. EFL Cup final ratings Jesse Lingard - 6 out of 10 Kept a cool head to score another Wembley goal, but almost lost it when fouling Redmond when on a yellow card. EFL Cup final ratings Anthony Martial - 5 out of 10 Kept under wraps by Cedric for long periods, his deliveries were questionable. EFL Cup final ratings Zlatan Ibrahimovic - 9 out of 10 The biggest man for the big occasion. Started and ended the scoring to win his first major trophy for Manchester United. EFL Cup final ratings Fraser Forster - 5 out of 10 Questioned for his positioning for Ibrahimovic's free-kick, there was little he could do with the other two United goals. EFL Cup final ratings Cedric - 7 out of 10 Lacked discipline at times, but impressed when on the attack and delivering from the right. EFL Cup final ratings Jack Stephens - 6 out of 10 Yellow carded for a tough challenge on Martial, the youngster competed fiercely. EFL Cup final ratings Maya Yoshida - 6 out of 10 Executed a great tackle to deny Lingard. Occasionally allowed his opponents too much space in the area. EFL Cup final ratings Ryan Bertrand - 8 out of 10 Like Cedric on the other flank, the full-back was excellent in getting forward and crossing at pace. EFL Cup final ratings Oriol Romeu - 7 out of 10 Competed well against Herrera, and almost won the tie himself with a header that crashed against the post. EFL Cup final ratings Steven Davis - 8 out of 10 The captain was a delight in midfield. He held his position well and was at the heart of Southampton's best play. EFL Cup final ratings Nathan Redmond - 7 out of 10 An exciting talent but too often tried to be hero, shooting when teammates were better placed. EFL Cup final ratings Dusan Tadic - 7 out of 10 Had a habit of finding pockets of space between United's defence and midfield in which he could show off his close control. EFL Cup final ratings James Ward-Prowse - 8 out of 10 Wonderful distribution, particularly from dead ball situations. Able to weight passes beautifully. EFL Cup final ratings Manolo Gabbiadini - 9 out of 10 Southampton's new hero scored twice and had another incorrectly ruled out. Deserved to end the match as a cup winner.

However, a major criticism of Pogba has been his lack of influence on games against fellow members of the top six, most notably the Manchester derby at the start of the season where City took the early initiative in the title race and the 4-0 drubbing away to Chelsea.

Mourinho has said Pogba needs to add more goals to his game and only three assists for a player with his creativity is viewed by some as a poor return.

Player Team Age Passes completed (opp half) Pass completion % (opp half) Paul Pogba Manchester United 23 1029 83.05% Jordan Henderson Liverpool 26 987 81.17% Mesut Ozil Arsenal 28 954 85.41% David Silva Manchester City 31 930 86.27% Eden Hazard Chelsea 26 875 83.41% Ander Herrera Manchester United 27 871 84.73% N'Golo Kante Chelsea 25 809 86.99% Christian Eriksen Tottenham 25 795 77.49% James Milner Liverpool 31 772 79.18% Nathaniel Clyne Liverpool 25 747 82.36%

Pogba has brought control to the Manchester United midfield though – most notably in the opposition half, where the 23-year-old has become the first player to complete over 1000 passes in the Premier League this season.

A criticism of Louis van Gaal’s United was the lack of forward passing, especially in attacking areas, but Pogba has brought that in abundance and averages 42 passes every 90 minutes in the opposition half, according to data courtesy of EA Sports.

With that, he brings a pass accuracy as high as 83 per cent.

Pogba’s statistic beats that of those considered the league’s best playmakers, such as Mesut Ozil, Eden Hazard and David Silva.

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