The discussion about Paul Pogba's future at Manchester United isn't going away quickly. With most people agreeing that his performances haven't been up to standard, the only real debate is whether that's his fault or not.
John Giles joined Off The Ball to discuss this week's Champions League games and gave quite a scathing review of the Frenchman's ability to play in central midfield.
"I think he has to have a role similar to the one he had when he apparently did very well at Juventus, where he played on the left side of midfield where you don't have the responsibility to dictate the game, and he had Pirlo playing for him who was a great midfield player who did that type of work to bring him into the game. He needs to be brought into the game rather than dictating the play".
Giles doubled down on his assessment by saying that Pogba would be more successful if deployed on the right side of the midfield, to free him of playmaking responsibilities and allow him make the most of his talents, as they aren't suited to playing through the middle.
"He needs somebody to get the ball to him rather than him having the responsibility to get the ball to other people".
"I think the fact is that Pogba is not the complete midfield player and he's certainly not a central midfield general player type of player like Modric or De Bruyne in the situation, or indeed Kante at Chelsea".
Giles didn't blame Pogba for United's problems in midfield however, as he believes that he shouldn't be asked to do that job as it's not his natural game, and that responsibility should fall to the feet of somebody else, though naming a player within the squad to do so is not an easy task.
"They're sadly lacking in midfield, a creative force in midfield, there's no doubt about that".
"Herrera is not good enough, Mata is not good enough to do it in the middle of the field, and Carrick has come into the team. Carrick has never been able to do it. They definitely miss that force in midfield to knit all the good players, all the good elements of the team together".
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