Imagine, for a moment, a player who over the course of a campaign could make more tackles than Virgil Van Dijk, complete more dribbles than Sadio Mane, win possession more times than Fernandinho, head more balls than Harry Kane, create more chances than Leroy Sane and succeed in more duels than N’Golo Kante.



It sounds implausible, doesn’t it? A character confected by some Xbox teenager on Fifa, perhaps. But – and you know where this is going – those comparatives were all true of a certain Manchester United player last season. While these particular statistics have been cherry-picked to illustrate a point, the breadth of Paul Pogba’s talent means he ranks highly across a remarkable range of measures.



Ahead of Saturday’s 2-1 defeat by Crystal Palace, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was asked whether the focus on Pogba provokes any irritation. “It doesn’t frustrate me, we expect a lot from him,” said Solskjaer. “But...