The former England boss believes time is running out for the Frenchman to prove himself

Sam Allardyce has delivered a scathing assessment of Paul Pogba and questioned whether he will ever be a consistent high-level performer for Manchester United.

On the back of helping France to World Cup glory in the summer, this was the season Pogba was expected to show exactly why United paid £89million to take him back to Old Trafford.

1 Paul Pogba struggled against Tottenham as Manchester United slipped to a 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford

But he has struggled to make a major impact in early stages of the new Premier League campaign, playing a peripheral role in back-to-back defeats to Brighton and Tottenham.

Speaking on talkSPORT on Tuesday, Allardyce said he is yet to understand the hype around the 25-year-old and warned he may never live up to his billing at United.

“United fans have been waiting for a consistent level of performances from Paul Pogba for so long now,” the ex-England boss began.

“Is it ever going to materialise at 25 now? He is at his peak.

“You have to hold your hands up and say you have not quite got what you expected on a consistent basis.

“When he plays well, he plays exceptionally well. His goals against Manchester City last season and his performance when he got moved just behind the front man was terrific, but we just haven’t seen enough.

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“Everybody said he had a brilliant World Cup for France and I never saw that either. I must have to go to the optician.

“When you are the leading man, you have to be leading every week. Your performances cannot dip on a week in, week out basis.

“You stay consistent and you get the results. You become spasmodic in your performance levels, you are not doing what you are paid for in the end and that is perform consistently at a very, very high level, which every player at Manchester United has to do week in and week out.”