When Paul Pogba moved to Manchester United for £89 million fans would have been hoping for a lot but in recent times they've not seen the player they would expect. Rio Ferdinand has explained why he thinks that is.
Paul Pogba managed to be one of the most talked about players without playing for the second time in a week on Wednesday when he was left out of Manchester United's starting XI in the Champions League against Sevilla.
The Frenchman was ill on Saturday in the FA Cup and missed out altogether but it's been amidst a run of bad form for both the team as a whole and more specifically for the player.
A lot has been made of whether or not he's been played in a system that most suits him, especially during the recent losses to Newcastle and Spurs, on the left of a midfield three.
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Last night Rio Ferdinand, speaking on BT Sport, reckoned there was another difference between Pogba and his time at Juventus and it's a solid theory:
"Positioning has been a large part of it, I would have been screaming at him. He would have found me a nightmare because I would be pushing him all over the park.
"He needs that, he had that at Juventus but he doesn't have that here.
"It's the intensity, you've got to be on your toes, with intent to defend for your team and he's been lacking that in recent weeks. I think that with Bonucci, Chiellini, Buffon at Juventus he had that; here the communication isn't there and the demands aren't being put on him."
In Italy Pogba was playing in front of one of the best and most experienced defences in Europe that were an obvious leadership in a team that won numerous Scudettos together and reached the Champions League final.
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At United the defence changes on a near weekly basis and the likes of Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly aren't commanding enough to help the midfielder.
Even David de Gea, potentially the world's best goalkeeper right now, isn't the most controlling of goalies, potentially the only weakness in his game.
Check out some of our favourite Pirlo quotes:
Paul Scholes agreed with his former teammate also sighting the influence of Andrea Pirlo and the Old Lady's actual plan, "For two years or maybe three years, playing with was one of the best midfield players in the world at Juventus, he was sensational - he was a part of the team and he knew the exact nature of his job.
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"You look at United sometimes when they're playing, you don't really know where they're playing and what they're going to do."
Can United and Pogba get back on track?
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Paul Pogba, Football News, Manchester United, Juventus, Rio Ferdinand, Champions League, Sevilla