Paul Pogba’s injury for the rest of the season means he has surely played his last game in a Manchester United shirt.
The France international won’t be returning to play again this season, and will be out of contract in the summer, bringing to an end an eventful six years at Old Trafford.
Much was expected of Pogba when he made that big move to Man Utd in the summer of 2016, but it’s fair to say we never really saw the best of him in English football.
Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside, former Red Devils midfielder Luke Chadwick admits Pogba’s time in Manchester has to go down as a failure, even if he did have some good moments.
Chadwick says both parties are to blame for Pogba never showing his true potential for United, as the player himself could have done more, even if the team wasn’t set up to suit his strengths, while he also suggested that the 29-year-old never quite looked as comfortable with Premier League football as he did with life in Serie A.
“I think it has to go down as a failure at the end of the day – him coming in hasn’t produced the results or the trophies that the club would have expected,” Chadwick said.
“Obviously he’s an extraordinarily gifted player, but he hasn’t consistently shown that at United. He was much more consistent during his time at Juventus, and seemed to work better with that different style in terms of the way they play in Serie A compared to the Premier League.
“He’s had some really good games and I thought he was particularly effective in that left-sided role he played under Solskjaer last season, where he played with a bit more freedom.
“Still, he’s clearly not hit the heights he did at Juventus or with the French national team, so you’d have to call that a failure overall. I’m sure he’d see it that way too, because he will have expected to do better and to win trophies, and that hasn’t happened.
“Both parties have to take responsibility. Pogba could’ve done more at times, but at the same time the club has been a bit of a mess. He’s played under different managers and never had that clear a role, and there have been a lot of hugely talented players who, for one reason or another, have also not excelled as they have at other clubs.
“The club didn’t do enough to find a role for Pogba, but he has to take some responsibility as well because we’ve seen that he’s capable of better than this.”