Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has hailed Paul Pogba after he made his long-awaited return from the sidelines against Watford, calling him 'the best all-rounder midfielder in the world'.

The Frenchman came on in the 64th minute at Vicarage Road but could not inspire the team as they fell to a crushing 2-0 loss to the Premier League's basement boys.

But his manager was happy with his impact and is looking forward to having him back in the team.

Paul Pogba made his highly-anticipated return to Man United against Watford on Sunday

The French midfielder did his best after coming on as a sub but could not prevent their 2-0 loss

Pressed on the possibility of him starting against Newcastle on Boxing Day, the Norwegian said: 'Let's see how he reacts, how he feels. He did really well when he came on, a big plus.

'It might be that we do get him in from the start because you just want to get more and more into the team when he plays.'

The World Cup winner has long been linked with an exit from Old Trafford, with rumours of a move to Real Madrid continuing to resurface, although he now looks set to stay after Solskjaer ruled out a transfer this season.

Pogba appears to be set to stay at Old Trafford after Solskjaer ruled out selling him this season

His agent Mino Raiola also said that Pogba was happy with the Red Devils and was not seeking a move, and Solskjaer believes that United possess the most versatile midfielder in the world.

'He can play anywhere, he can play the whole midfield, he is a box-to-box midfielder. He can drop deep, get it and play them long passes. He can get higher up and combine like he did on Sunday.

'It depends on the game. That's the beauty of having Paul because he is the best all-round midfielder in the world, he can do all the roles. It's great to have him back.'

United suffered another set-back in their season with their disappointing defeat to Watford after claiming impressive wins against Manchester City and Tottenham.

Solskjaer wants his players to be more ruthless and more solid against the counter attack

David De Gea's horrific blunder gifted the Hornets the opener when he fumbled a shot into his own net, before Troy Deeney's penalty sealed a much-needed win for Nigel Pearson's side.

With United sitting in eighth place on Christmas Day, Solskjaer has now challenged his players to develop a ruthless mentality against teams below them in the table, looking to rivals Liverpool as inspiration.

'We want to be a team that can go and dominate teams and break teams down. It's taken Liverpool a few years to get to that stage and we need to just keep on building because that's what we want to get to.

'We create loads of chances, but every time we lose it there's a counter-attack. We need to lock it down more, better at stopping the counter-attack.