1. Footymad
  2. Red Devils Mad
  3. Red Devils Latest
  4. Red Devils News

?Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Describes Fit Paul Pogba as 'Best All-Round Midfielder in the World'

​Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has lavished praise on Paul Pogba, describing him as the 'best all-round midfielder in the world' after the Frenchman made his long-awaited injury return.

Pogba had been out since September with an ankle problem that he sustained during his side's 1-1 draw with Arsenal. The World Cup winner finally returned to the Manchester United first team against the Hornets, though he could not prevent the Red Devils falling to a 2-0 defeat against the Premier League's basement club.

Nevertheless, Solskjaer was eager to praise Pogba prior to United's trip to Newcastle on Boxing Day. 

"He can play anywhere, he can play the whole midfield, he is a box-to-box midfielder. He can drop deep, get it and play them long passes. He can get higher up and combine like he did on Sunday," the Norwegian stated, as reported by the ​Daily Mail.


"It depends on the game. That's the beauty of having Paul because he is the best all-round midfielder in the world, he can do all the roles. It's great to have him back."

When asked if Pogba is likely to start against the Magpies, Solskjaer confirmed that the Frenchman was being considered to play the full 90 minutes.


"Let's see how he reacts, how he feels. He did really well when he came on, a big plus," the United boss said.


"It might be that we do get him in from the start because you just want to get more and more into the team when he plays."

The loss to Watford continued a worrying trend of United being unable to defeat teams in the lower reaches of the table, with the Red Devils already failing to beat ​Aston Villa, ​Newcastle and ​West Ham this season. Solskjaer also emphasised that this is something his side are keen to rectify during the remainder of the campaign.

"We want to be a team that can go and dominate teams and break teams down. It's taken Liverpool a few years to get to that stage and we need to just keep on building because that's what we want to get to," the 46-year-old confirmed.


"We create loads of chances, but every time we lose it there's a counter-attack. We need to lock it down more, better at stopping the counter-attack."

For more from Matt O'Connor-Simpson, follow him on Twitter!


Source : 90min