Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba have both featured heavily this season for Manchester United

We've crunched the numbers to find out who Manchester United's most important player is ahead of their Nissan Super Sunday trip to Everton.

Opta's in-depth data, which powers Sky Sports Fantasy Six-a-Side, has provided some insight, revealing that world-record signing Paul Pogba has been United's most influential player in the Premier League this season.

The 23-year-old tops the charts in terms of completed passes and chances created, while performing consistently well across the other important areas calculated.

That sees him top the Fantasy Six-a-Side rankings with 786 points, 72 more than second-placed Zlatan Ibrahimovic, while Marcus Rashford and Wayne Rooney perform poorly even after their reduced playing time is factored in.

Here's a breakdown of the key categories used to rate player performance...

Goals Ibrahimovic 7 Mata 3 Rashford 3 Pogba 2 Martial/Rooney/Smalling 1

Ibrahimovic leads the way with seven goals and is in form too, having scored three in his last two league appearances plus a brace in the midweek EFL Cup win over West Ham. United's 11 other league goals have been well spread around, with Rashford and Juan Mata joint second on three.

Chances created Pogba 23 Mata 20 Ibrahimovic 19 Rooney 16 Blind 15

Rather than simply calculating assists, Fantasy Six-a-Side reward players for creating the chances regardless of whether the recipient of the pass can find the net. That has proved extremely favourable for Pogba, who has created 23 chances for team-mates but only seen one converted into a goal.

Mata has also set up just the single goal despite teeing-up team-mates on 20 occasions. In contrast, Wayne Rooney has the team's most assists with four, despite creating just 16 chances. This is backed up by WhoScored.com stats suggesting Pogba and Mata average the most 'key passes' per game, with Pogba averaging 1.9 to Rooney's 1.3.

Completed passes Pogba 718 Herrera 593 Valencia 443 Mata 429 Fellaini 421

Pogba once again comes in at number one, having completed 718 passes this season, well clear of his team-mates. However, Jose Mourinho's rotation of midfielders around the virtually ever-present Pogba distorts numbers somewhat, with Ander Herrera actually averaging significantly higher passes-per-minute than the Frenchman at 0.79 versus 0.66.

Pogba also has one of the worst pass completion rates in the team at 85.9 per cent compared to Michael Carrick's unmatched 92.1 per cent.

Tackles Valencia 21 Fellaini 19 Herrera 19 Bailly/Blind/Pogba 16

Converted right-back Antonio Valencia cannot be accused of shrugging off his defensive duties, making more tackles than any other player at the club. However, that seems likely to be due to his venturing out of position as he makes marauding runs in the absence of a conventional right-winger at the club.

Indeed, the Ecuadorian has attempted the 20th most dribbles in the Premier League according to WhoScored.com data, with Pogba the only United player attempting to beat his man more often.

Interceptions Herrera 35 Bailly 33 Valencia 24 Blind 23 Pogba 20

As a Spanish playmaker, Herrera is typically renowned for his creativity rather than defensive instincts. However, his ability to break up play has been unparalleled this season, despite starting just eight of his side's 13 games.

Eric Bailly was also performing exceptionally in that department before being sidelined, while Marouane Fellaini's return of 15 interceptions represents a poor effort given he has featured virtually the same amount as Herrera.

Aerial duels Ibrahimovic 40 Pogba 37 Fellaini 36 Smalling 18 Blind 14

It comes as no surprise that the 6ft 5in Ibrahimovic leads the way in aerial duels, closely followed by Pogba and Fellaini, who has won the highest amount per start (36). The towering trio have won exactly half of their side's total headers.

Fantasy Six-a-Side points Pogba 786 Ibrahimovic 714 Blind 624 Mata 567 Herrera 549

And there we have it, Pogba has been Manchester United's most influential player so far this season. However, Mourinho's preference towards his world-record signing has naturally helped his cause, with Herrera and Mata proving more effective in their relatively limited opportunities.

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