France international Paul Pogba only managed three Premier League assists in the entire 2020-21 campaign
Bruno Fernandes' hat trick ensured that he won the man-ofthe-match honors in Manchester United's 5-1 win over Leeds at Old Trafford. But Paul Pogba's contribution to the match was perhaps more important.
While there has been no debate about Fernandes' contribution to Old Trafford since his January 2020 arrival from Sporting Lisbon, it is clear that the case with Pogba could not have been more different.
Indeed, Graeme Souness' name was trending in Twitter on Saturday afternoon due to Pogba’s four-assist performance. This is a reference to former Liverpool and Scotland stars' long-held reservations regarding the midfielder.
Pogba created four of his team's five goals and joined a select group of seven men who have done it in one match of the Premier League era. He also became the first Manchester United player. Harry Kane's contribution to the 5-2 win against Southampton in September 2020 was the only time this had ever happened since 2013.
Fernandes said that people talk about Paul's quality, but his quality is not up to question. We know what he is capable of.
Paul is an important player in our team. These performances are what we can expect from him."
This is not reality.
Other players who provide four assists in a Premier League game Date Team Player Opponent (20 February 1999 Arsenal Dennis Bergkamp Leicester City (14 January 2006 Arsenal Jose Antonio Reyes Middlesbrough (4 October 2009 Arsenal Cesc Fabregas Blackburn Rovers (1 February 2012 Tottenham Hotspur Emmanuel Adebayor Newcastle United) 14 May 2013 Arsenal Santi Cazorla Wigan Athletic (20 September 2020 Tottenham Hotspur Harry Kane Southampton) 14 August 2021 Manchester United Paul Pogba Leeds United
It's amazing to think that Pogba has now surpassed his assist total of three from last season in just one game.
For the opener, Fernandes made a first-time lofted pass. A 40-yard curling ball was found inside Pascal Struijk. Mason Greenwood was free for the second. Fernandes made a short pass for number three. Fred completed the rout with a low cross using his left foot. Pogba would be ranked high in the list of world's most influential players if he had a highlight reel.
Problem is, the Frenchman has not been able to even get close to these levels consistently.
This is why United has been having so much discussion about whether they would cut their losses on a player that cost them 89m in 2016 when he came back from Juventus, but could now leave them for nothing if his contract expires next year.
It turns out that Lionel Messi has closed the door on his exit for now.
Paris St-Germain was the only club that had the financial, status and interest to make a deal during the current transfer window. However, Messi's arrival means that even they can't contemplate it right now. This means Pogba will remain where he is.
The long-accepted options have been reduced to two, and negotiations will continue. Either Pogba will leave next summer as an unsigned free agent (his controversial agent Mino Raciola used that tactic last season with Gianluigi Donarumma, before the Italy keeper ultimately left AC Milan for PSG) or he signs a lucrative extension with Manchester United.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, United manager, is getting tired of the subject and even though he was twice asked directly about it in his post-match conference media conference his response quickly turned into a collective assessment on how well his team performed.
Nevertheless, it is possible to pick out a few sentences.
He said, "Paul has that vision and quality." His fitness level is also impressive. He seems ready to go.
"The past 18 months have been strange. There has been no interaction with anyone. It's been a lonely time. I watched the games on TV to see if there was any chance of reuniting with fans. This is Manchester United. This is how I sold it to Edinson [Cavani] - and stated that you can't leave the club after one season without fans. Your question is answered "yes"
Man Utd 5-1 Leeds Utd - Solskjaer: "I couldn't ask for more,"
It was a question of whether Pogba's fans returning could be the key to his stay.
However, it cannot be the only one. It is inevitable that money will be a bigger issue than ever before the 28-year old is settled on his future. History suggests that there will be much more debate about this matter.
At the moment, there is a lot of optimism around Pogba. United supporters can only hope that Souness' name continues to pop up on Twitter in their quest to be serious contenders for major honours.
