Danny Higginbotham: Paul Pogba is the complete midfielder – a rarity that not even Yaya Toure at his peak can rival
THERE are very few complete midfielders in the game today — but Paul Pogba is one of them.
He is a throwback to Patrick Vieira, a defensive midfielder AND an attacking one.
These days, you don’t see players like Vieira, Steven Gerrard or Roy Keane. Midfielders tend to be sitters like N’Golo Kante or more expansive players like Eden Hazard.
They stick to what they know — Kante can’t do what Hazard can and Hazard can’t do what Kante can.
Pogba IS capable of both and that is so rare these days.
He’s far more like ex-Arsenal star Vieira than Yaya Toure, to whom he’s also been compared.
I played against Yaya and he’s incredible, an absolute Rolls Royce moving through the gears, quick and powerful.
But he wouldn’t be the one coming back to make a vital tackle on the edge of his own box. That’s just not his game.
That’s where Pogba is different because he has the full package, just like Patrick did.
Vieira could make the last-ditch tackle at one end and then pop up on the end of a cross at the other.
I recall, with a shudder sometimes, how it could be against him.
He was able to put his foot in. He was brilliant at that.
And when Vieira was running at you in full stride, you felt like you were on a hiding to nothing. Those runs were so powerful, especially when he built up a head of steam.
He was ridiculously good, unbelievable. Today, you would be looking at £90million-plus if he was on the market.
That’s what Manchester United have paid for Pogba, because he can use his physicality and positional sense defensively but also go box to box.
He WILL do damage at both ends.
So he’s perfect for what boss Jose Mourinho is trying to do, which is to make United a counter-attacking side again.
Louis van Gaal is a possession-based manager.
But last season United were always the same, “win the ball, have five or six passes”. By the time they had done that, the opposition were back in shape.
They defended so deep the centre-forward got isolated and the system limited the players and stopped them expressing themselves.
But this season, with them having bought Henrikh Mkhitaryan as well as Pogba they will be a team with a different dynamic and more pace. They will get the ball and go ‘bang!’
Pogba will give them extra impetus. He will pick the ball up in deep areas and cover the ground swiftly to get things going, in a team with more freedom to play instinctively.
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Now if they get the ball, they will be given the licence to run at the opposition.
Pogba will be encouraged to get forward and drive, just like his fellow Frenchman Vieira did. And he has the energy to get back as well.
You get far more out of him playing deeper than if he operates just as a No 10. His runs from deep are fantastic but he’s also a much better player when he is facing the opponents’ goal than if he gets the ball facing the other way.
If you ask Pogba to play with his back to goal you’d take that away from him — and it’s one of his biggest weapons. In fact, if you did play him higher up, you’d force him to play with less space.
Like when facing Vieira, I’d much rather be defending against Pogba when I could see his back than when he’s running at me.