Ole Gunnar Solskjaer should play Paul Pogba in his favourite midfield position with quality players like Bruno Fernandes around him for Manchester United.

That is the view of former United defender and Football Pools panellist David Sadler who believes Pogba has the ability to conquer world football again, as he did with France at the 2018 World Cup.

As discussions continue about how to resume the Premier League, many United fans are excited about the prospect of Pogba and January signing Fernandes playing together for the first time. The Frenchman has missed most of the 2019/20 season with an ankle injury, after an inconsistent 2018/19 campaign.

And Sadler, who played for United for a decade between 1963 and 1973, thinks there is more to come from Pogba.

“He’s an outstanding player, he told MEN Sport via The Pools. “He’s so tall, he’s pacy. He’s leggy but he somehow keeps the ball under control. And when he’s at his best, you would have him in your side every day of the week. But he just doesn’t seem to be showing it.”

Pogba has been heavily linked with a departure from United, his boyhood club who he rejoined in 2016 after a spell at Juventus. The signing of Fernandes – plus United’s interest in Jack Grealish and James Maddison – put the Frenchman’s future into doubt.

But despite the question marks, Sadler thinks Pogba and Fernandes could work in the same side.

“The obvious answer is that he’s being distracted elsewhere and that woudn’t be a surprise in modern football,” he added on Pogba’s future.

“I would certainly play him in a midfield position that suits his ability to score goals and get to both ends of the pitch, with one or two popping up around him. Then I think we’d get the best from him.

“The answer is that they might,” he said on Pogba and Fernandes pairing up successfully.

“And you can’t always predict. I don’t know, but I’m very surprised because Pogba looked to be about to conquer the football world and it seems to have gone downhill a bit.”

The Football Pools have published a predicted table based on what might have happened if Premier League season had continued uninterrupted in a world without coronavirus.

And it predicted United would be in third place on 69 points with a game to spare – form which Sadler believes could be replicated in the real world when football resumes.

“It just goes to show how difficult it is [to predict results],” he said.

“United were in relegation form halfway through the season. They were playing dreadful, they seemed to have a lot of top players who seemed unable to turn out.

“Pogba was hardly ever available for playing. But then they seemed to bring one or two players in after Christmas and from nowhere they started to put together some half decent results. The prediction is they finish on 69 points and third in the table.

“One or two United players have turned up in the second half of the season and made a substantial difference.

“It’s a must to get into Europe [the Champions League] these days and it looks like they might well do it.”

SOURCE:- allfootballapp