5 selection dilemmas for Jose Mourinho after the January Transfer Window

#4 The curiosity of Paul Pogba’s position

Pogba fumbled in the game against Spurs.

Ever since his world-record transfer to Manchester United last season, Paul Pogba’s position has been under immense scrutiny. Initially forced to play deeper in his first season, Paul Pogba has played in a much more advanced position this time around.

Nemanja Matic generally shields the defence which in turn gives Pogba the license to surge ahead with precision. However, against teams who like to press high up on the pitch, Pogba has to drop back to do some defensive work.

For example, in the match against Tottenham Hotspur, the Lilywhites focus on recovering the ball in the opposite half and that restricted Pogba’s movement in Spurs’ half. As witnessed from the game against Everton on the New Year’s Eve, Paul Pogba is sumptuous going ahead when he plays on the base of a two-man midfield.

Particularly, in big games, Jose Mourinho should prefer playing Ander Herrera with Matic at the centre of the park so that Pogba could be totally relieved of the defensive duties.

If Mourinho wants to continue with four attacking players then one of either Juan Mata or Jesse Lingard should drop back to allow Pogba to surge ahead.

Overall, it is obvious now that Pogba likes to play in the left-sided midfield position. This allows him to make diagonal runs and that helps him to link up with the other forwards. Moreover, his partnership with Alexis Sanchez on the left side can prove to be fruitful for Manchester United on the attacking front.

It will shift the creativity for Manchester United to the left side of the pitch. Currently, around 37% of attacking moves for Manchester United come from the left side of the pitch. This could see a significant increase if Alexis and Pogba start featuring on the left flank regularly.