Paul Pogba: Has he overcome the price tag?

Last summer the football community held its breath, as it was announced that Paul Pogba would be returning to Old Trafford for a world-record fee of £89.3 million at just 23 years of age. The Frenchman had impressed in Serie A with Juventus and, in an attempt to add world-class quality to their ranks, Manchester United broke the bank to resign their midfield dynamo.

With such a hefty price-tag came the inevitable weight of expectation for Pogba to hit the ground running and become a revelation with just three touches of the football. Pundits, fans and journalists alike were remarkably quick to scrutinise every move the multi-million-pound man made and a heavy cloud of doubt was left hanging over the midfielder’s head.

Early criticism

To begin with, it seemed the Frenchman couldn’t put a foot right and following a below average performance in the highly anticipated Manchester derby at the start of the campaign, Jamie Carragher became one of the first high-profile pundits to voice concerns about Pogba’s contribution.

“The performance of Paul Pogba: It was ill-disciplined. He was like a kid in the schoolyard, running where he wants and doing what he wants,” lambasted the former-Liverpool defender, critical especially of the Frenchman’s positional sense at the time.

It quickly seemed as though every football Einstein came out of the woodwork to mock and slate Pogba. However, as the season’s progressed, so have the 23-year-old’s performances.

He even found a voice of support from his teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who suggested Pogba’s inconsistency at the start of the campaign stemmed from the fact he was trying too hard to justify the mammoth price tag, “I think when Paul came, in his first period in United, let's say the first month, I think he wanted to demonstrate too much that he was worth the transfer that happened instead of playing his game like he knows how to play.”

Of course, when Pogba returned to England’s top flight, it wasn’t a case of an unknown talent looking to shake things up; people expected the exceptional and Pogba went into every game with such a mindset. After a shaky start and a winless October for Pogba and United, questions began to be asked about the Frenchman’s credentials and, with so much cynicism surrounding finance in football, it became universal opinion that the former-Juve man was a severe waste of money.

The Pogback

Finally coming into his own?

Just one game into November though and there was a glimmer of hope for the most expensive player in the world. United overturned a struggling Swansea 3-1 at the Liberty Stadium, with Pogba registering a goal and putting in an excellent shift overall, in which he maintained a pass completion rate 96%, making two key blocks and as many interceptions. It wasn’t world class standard but it was a solid shift which became a firm foundation for a Pogba revival.

An absence of goals has been another favoured area for Pogba critics this term, with some having been of the opinion that players costing anywhere near the region Pogba did normally possess clinical attacking prowess and so he should have delivered more than the four goals he has done so far this season.

However, the Frenchman defended himself against such claims, asserting, "My role as a midfielder is not to score. I can make a difference in games, but I have a lot of work. Defensive work, dictate play. It's also a question of my abilities. I can also make the difference in winning back possession, in the team's play... I have to work for the team rather than think about myself.”

Coming into his own

Pogba has been well and truly put through his paces as far as off-field criticism goes this season, perhaps because he hasn’t been rifling home a 30-yarder every week or scoring outrageous overhead kicks, but there’s no denying that he’s starting to master the basics at Old Trafford.

Amidst all the criticism, pundits and fans are quick to glaze over the fact that in his 24 league appearances for the Red Devils this term, Pogba has created the most chances of any other United player (46), as well as having made the most key passes at 43, which is the 11^th highest in the division as a whole.

On top of that, he has registered the second highest number of successful passes of any other player in the Premier League with 1,494. They may just be numbers but they all serve as indications that Pogba is beginning to get the basics right and settle down at the heart of the United midfield.

Of all the critical analyses of Pogba being dished out this season, former-United defender Rio Ferdinand has come the closest to the truth.

"He's come in with a big price tag, team struggling a little and he's looked at as being the big talisman straight away,” he claimed. “It's hard to do that - new stadium, new people, new environment completely -- it's difficult and then all eyes on you as the big money signing, so it's not easy to do. But next season, I am excited about Paul Pogba because he will be accustomed to his surroundings and hopefully we can see the best of him.”

That’s exactly what it boils down to. For a player of Pogba’s type, his best work is going to be unseen, to begin with, and that makes it all the more difficult for fans to recognise whether or not he’s having a worthwhile impact.

This campaign was always going to be one of settling in and, in truth, Pogba doesn’t have to worry about overcoming anything this term; he’s adjusting to the Premier League’s dynamic still but, after having had one season under his belt, and with talk of his price-tag a thing of the past, there’s certainly potential for Pogba to transcend from such judgements and establish himself as one of the finest midfielders the Premier League has ever seen.