Jose Mourinho says Paul Pogba star could play as a centre half
Football
By
Mirror
| Oct 26, 2016
Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has hinted £89m midfielder Paul Pogba could solve his defensive headache, saying Frenchman could be a "phenomenal central defender".
The Red Devils have been dealt a major blow with the news that Eric Bailly looks set to miss two months after suffering a knee injury during Sunday's 4-0 defeat to Chelsea.
Both Chris Smalling and Daley Blind looked out of sorts as Antonio Conte's team steamrollered United, while fellow defender Marcos Rojo remains out of favour.
However, Mourinho has suggested he's found the answer - star midfielder Pogba.
A box-to-box midfielder and creative force with an eye for goal, the 23-year-old joined rejoined United in a world-record £89.3million deal from Juventus in the summer.
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But so far, he has struggled to hit top form, finding the net three times.
Paving the way for a change of position, Mourinho says Pogba has all the attributes required to become a top class central defender.
He said: “He’s a top player and I think he could be a phenomenal central defender.
“With the quality of his pass, with his aerial game, with his agility in such a big body, for his defensive side of the game, coming from the back with the ball, he would be a phenomenal central defender, too.”
Critics say Mourinho is failing to get the best out of Pogba because of the systems being implemented during matches.
In response, the United manager told Sky Sports: “He can play in so many positions.
“The problem is not the position. The problem is not the tactical system. The problem is, in my opinion, somebody that comes from a different style of football and needs this time to be at his best level in football that is really difficult to play, especially for midfield players.”
“I think it is really difficult to play or adapt from different realities, but he is a phenomenal player. He has unbelievable potential. He has years and years to develop his game, so that expectation and investment from the club is based on that – a super player for the next seven or eight years.”
“He’s getting better and better and better at every level. That’s our expectation. We don’t expect Paul to arrive here and the next day to be unbelievable. But the other thing is that we trust him so much that we pass to him this kind of feeling.
“He is a very self-confident boy too, so we are living well with the critics, if you want, and we know what the critics are."