Paul Pogba is Manchester United's '£90m problem' as Jamie Carragher and Frank Lampard claim he's 'not good enough'
Lampard and Carragher believe that the United midfielder has not lived up to his billing this season as the world's most expensive player
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Your support makes all the difference.Frank Lampard and Jamie Carragher have laid into Manchester United’s word record signing, Paul Pogba, after complaining that the £90m midfielder “hasn’t been a game changer” and has become “a problem”.
Lampard joined Carragher on Monday Night Football as the Chelsea great watched his former side see off West Ham 2-1 to continue their relentless surge towards regaining the Premier League title.
However, it was his comments on United, and in particular Pogba, that caught attentions given that he was fairly critical of the France international’s performances this season, given he remains the most expensive player in world football.
Carragher was equally as negative about Pogba, and analysed his stats this season as being “nowhere near good enough”, given that he has scored four goals in the league and laid on just three assists.
“He's not a game changer,” claimed Lampard on Sky Sports. “It was a signal of their intentions to spend £90m on someone I would say isn't a finished article.
“When you have a £90m price tag you wonder more... and you're left still thinking what player he is... he hasn't quite delivered and he hasn't been a game changer.
“He has potential but the problem is who do you spend £90m on? A [Luis] Suarez, [Cristiano] Ronaldo, [Lionel] Messi. We need to wait until next season to see if he's improving. But I do believe that is in him. If you spend £90m, you don't want a £90m problem. I'm sure Jose Mourinho will solve it but at the moment he's not fluent.”
Carragher echoed his former England teammates’s observations, but while he labelled Pogba a “liability”, he was also quick to praise his talents when moving forwards with the ball at his feet.
“He's still nowhere near good enough and hasn't got the discipline,” said Carragher. “He's a liability defensively. What he does give you is a fantastic passing range. There's no doubt he has a great relationship with Ibrahimovic.”
Lampard also noted Pogba’s positional indiscipline, and said that when his own former manager, Jose Mourinho, elects to start Pogba alongside Michael Carrick in central midfielder, the two do not complement each other as they should.
“When Jose Mourinho is playing a two [central midfielders] he wants them to defend but he's not busting a gut to get back... he realises far too late,” added Lampard.
“My question is how much do you want him in these deep roles? For me Michael Carrick is in the team to play deep... if he's not close enough he's not going to get the numbers. You've got this player you want to get into your team but what's the best place for him?
“I see him as eager. Maybe he's over eager.”
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