- 17 Dec 2024
Ferdinand: Paul Pogba needs to consider Man Utd future
Stefan Bienkowski
- Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
- 2 min read
Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba may need to consider his future at the Premier League side after being benched again by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, according to former player Rio Ferdinand.
With the manager’s very future at the club dependent on one result to the next, Solskjaer opted to drop Pogba to the bench in Man Utd’s midweek Champions League defeat to Basaksehir and Saturday’s Premier League clash with Everton.
Rather than start the France international, Solskjaer decided to go with a more conservative midfield partnership of Scott McTominay and Fred. A tactical move which, according to Ferdinand, should set off alarm bells in Pogba’s head.
Speaking ahead of the match on BT Sport, Ferdinand said: “If I’m sitting there and I’m Paul Pogba, I’m going ‘I’m not in his best team. He needs to pull out a result, he’s under immense pressure today and I’m on the bench.’”
“What does that say to the likes of Paul Pogba? That’s where if I’m Pogba I’m like ‘Where do I lie in his plans?’ I think for Ole the two in front of the back four are his insurance policy.
“That front four have got to go and produce. Rashford, Bruno, creating chances and scoring goals is what he needs from them today.”
The midfielder has featured in 10 games for Man United this season but has struggled to match the consistency and goal-scoring threat that made him a vital addition to the team each match day under previous managers.
As such, speculation has only heightened over Pogba’s future at the club, with Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici recently refusing to shy away from the idea of bringing the Frenchman back to northern Italy.
In quotes carried by the Mirror, he said: “Paul Pogba as our target? At this moment he’s a Man Utd player, it’s difficult to think about transfers.
“We love Pogba, he’s a fantastic player but it’s too early to talk about our targets for the future.”
