Manchester United have been hit with an injury crisis with Eric Bailly reportedly ruled out for two months. The defender suffered a knee injury in Manchester United’s 4-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. This leaves Jose Mourinho with Chris Smalling, Daley Blind, and Marcos Rojo as his only options in central defence.
Chris Smalling had a very poor game against the Blues and Marcos Rojo was not able to do anything significant after coming on in the 52nd minute in the same game. This has left the former Chelsea and Real Madrid manager frustrated and he is said to be trying to find a quick short term replacement inside his squad.
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Also Read: Manchester United News: Eric Bailly expected to be out of action for two months due to knee injury
The hunt for a quick replacement for Eric Bailly has landed him with Paul Pogba. The manager is reportedly impressed with the Frenchman's skills and defending abilities and has hinted that he might play him as a central defender.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Jose Mourinho said, "He's a top player and I think he (Paul Pogba) could be a phenomenal central defender. With the quality of his pass, with his aerial game, with his agility in such a big body, for his defensive side of the game, coming from the back with the ball, he would be a phenomenal central defender, too."
The midfielder has struggled to adjust to the Premier League and has not managed to live up to the hefty fee paid by the Red Devils to sign him from Juventus. Pogba has scored 3 goals in his 11 games for Manchester United and has been criticised for his performance more often than not.
Jose Mourinho has jumped in to defend Pogba’s poor start to the season by saying that it’s got nothing to do with the position he’s playing in and it's all about adjusting. "The problem is not the position. The problem is not the tactical system. The problem is, in my opinion, somebody that comes from a different style of football and needs this time to be at his best level in football that is really difficult to play, especially for midfield players," said the Red Devils manager.
Also Read: Life in Manchester 'bit of a disaster', says Mourinho
Pogba has reportedly requested Mourinho to play him a little more up the field than where he was being played so far, but it looks like the manager has plans to bring him even further down the pitch.
Manchester United take on Manchester City tonight in the Round of 16 tie of the EFL Cup. The Citizens are winless in their last five games while Manchester United are going into the game after a thrashing at the hands of Jose Mourinho’s former club, Chelsea.
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