The former Red Devils midfielder believes a World Cup-winning talent can rediscover his best form in the wake of Jose Mourinho’s departure
Paul Pogba remains “a match-winner”, according to Darren Fletcher, with the Manchester United midfielder being backed to flourish if given a free role by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The France international midfielder has struggled to justify an £89 million ($113m) price tag since returning to Old Trafford in the summer of 2016.
Part of the problem for the 25-year-old was finding the right position in Jose Mourinho’s plans, with the Portuguese often seeking to restrict the attacking flair of a flamboyant performer.
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Former United star Fletcher hopes that will not be the case now that Solskjaer has been handed the Red Devils’ reins on an interim basis.
He wants to see Pogba given license to influence proceedings from a playmaking post, telling talkSPORT of a World Cup-winning talent he worked with before a move to Juventus was made in 2012: “When I was out ill I worked for six months with the reserves with Warren Joyce, and that’s what we did.
“We gave him a free role. We said to him, go and play, get on the ball and make things happen.
“Obviously he worked hard as well, that was asked of him.
“But we didn’t play him as a central midfielder, somebody who was controlling the game, we played him higher up the pitch as a number ten, he could go left, he could go right.
“We let him be a free spirit and he was a match-winner.
“He could win games, he could create chances and he loved getting on the ball and trying things, but at least he was doing in the attacking third.
“So hopefully we see that Paul Pogba now, but he has got the ability of being a box-to-box midfielder, he’s matured now and I’ve seen him do it for France, so there’s no reason why he can’t do it for Man United.”
Prior to Mourinho’s dismissal, which came on the back of a deflating 3-1 defeat to Liverpool, Pogba had started just one Premier League game since November 24.
He failed to even make it off the bench at Anfield, despite the Red Devils struggling to get to grips with the Premier League leaders.
It is, however, likely that he will slot straight back into the fold under a new coaching regime, with the Solskjaer era set to be opened away at Cardiff City on Saturday.