Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba ‘feeling the love’ again under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, says Yaya Toure

Pogba endured a difficult relationship with former boss Jose Mourinho, but has thrived under United's new caretaker boss

Monday 14 January 2019 16:22 EST
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Former Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure believes that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s appointment as Manchester United caretaker manager has helped Paul Pogba to “feel the love” again, inspiring the Frenchman’s recent upturn in form.

Pogba endured a difficult relationship with former boss Jose Mourinho, who left him on the bench for the defeat at Liverpool in December, in what turned out to be the Portuguese's final match in charge.

But the France international has been rejuvenated since Solskjaer, who coached Pogba at United's academy, came in and gave him freedom to perform.

And Toure believes the greater amount of responsibility Solskjaer has handed Pogba has helped the Frenchman to turn his ailing season around.

“To be honest, I think part of it is he has more belief in his manager and his manager put himself in the situation,” Toure commented on Monday Night Football.

“He’s the boss, he has to push his teammates further. And he has the qualities to do that because I think when you see the World Cup in Russia, it was a big example. You caught some clips of him talking to his teammates in the dressing room. It was amazing. He was looking like a basketball player, trying to give a nice speech.

“He’s the type of player who wants to have that connection with his manager, being trusted by him and telling him to push. Feeling the love. I loved that. That’s good for United and that’s good for the fans because this kind of player always has to shine, they have to show their quality.”

Toure added that he is a great fan of Pogba – a player he believes can “do it all”.

“But what he can deliver is - when you see him at Juventus in the past, you see a lot of quality” Toure said.

“He can shoot from far, he can dribble, he can kick passes like you saw this weekend against Tottenham. It’s what the fans want and it’s what a club like this are paying him for.”

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