Paul Pogba Manchester UnitedGetty Images

Pogba perfect for No. 10 role at Man Utd? Parker hoping for end to position frustration

Paul Pogba’s positional troubles at Manchester United are “frustrating” but he may be perfect for a No. 10 role, says Paul Parker.

The Frenchman was returned to Old Trafford for £89 million in 2016 having established a reputation as one of the world’s best in a playmaking post at Juventus.

United’s tactical approach under Jose Mourinho has seen him shifted around the Red Devils engine room, with his attacking instincts often being curtailed.

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Questioning of his contribution, after being benched and substituted on a regular basis of late, has sparked transfer talk and forced his manager to play down talk of a rift.

Parker hopes the issue can now be resolved as a matter of urgency, with the former United defender telling The Sun on an unfortunate situation at Old Trafford: “When I joined United, Sir Alex [Ferguson] signed me because of my defensive qualities and what I could add to the team from that perspective.

“The improvements I made and tweaks to how I performed were implemented along the way, and I guess in Pogba’s case that’s what we are not seeing at the moment, because he’s being asked to play in a position he’s not entirely comfortable with.

“We know he’s got outstanding qualities but while he isn’t being played in his favoured role, on the left hand side of a midfield three, he finds it difficult.

“Certainly defensively anyway. It’s frustrating if you’re a United supporter because we’ve seen what he can do in that role for Juventus and at times for France.

“The game comes very easy to Pogba and I just wonder, if long-term, he might be better suited in the number 10 role, where he can do what he likes more or less in that final part of the pitch.

“Pogba’s at his best when he can be creative and make things happen going forward. Remove the shackles and get him in positions where he can go at players one versus one, or has the freedom to run in behind and ask questions of the opposition defence that way.

“We know already that he gets on well with Romelu Lukaku, so why not try and get them nearer to one another on the pitch too, and see how that works.

“Footballers are commodities and it’s a very different game to when I played. But somehow, Mourinho has to get Pogba playing in a way that makes the team better, and in the end, I think he will.

“Mourinho has a track record of success everywhere he’s been and he’ll know he has a better chance of continuing that run with Pogba in his starting XI.”

Mourinho has confirmed that Pogba will start an FA Cup fifth round clash with Huddersfield, with it hoped that he can start to rediscover form and confidence heading into the business end of the 2017-18 campaign.

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