Paul Pogba would have cut it in Manchester United's all-conquering treble team.
That is the view of 1999 hero Teddy Sheringham, who says the stars of Sir Alex Ferguson's most successful side would have got the best of out the mercurial Frenchman.
Pogba has received widespread criticism since rejoining United from Juventus in 2016 for not living up to his undoubted ability.
But Sheringham says the World Cup winner would have been at home in a midfield that contained Roy Keane, Paul Scholes and David Beckham - and that the senior stars of that side would have made sure he was focused on winning rather than showboating.
When asked if Pogba - rejuvenated under interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer - could have figured alongside the players who won the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup in the same season, Sheringham told Stadium Astro: “I think he would because he is a very talented player.
“He would have been brought back down to earth at the right times when he’s... not stepping out of line, because you’re not stepping out of line, you’re just not doing the right things at the right times.
“That’s what made our team so good. We did all the right things at the right times.
“There’s a lot of players who do the wrong things constantly. You have to do the right things at the right times for you to be part of a team.
“I think he would have been told by the senior members, ‘pass the ball. Stop showing how good you are. We play as a team’.
Getty“The more you keep telling them, you hope that the penny drops.
“There’s always times to do that bit of flashness, to get you out of a problem on the football pitch, but not every time you get it.”
Solskjaer, a team-mate of Sheringham in the 1999 team, is credited with making Pogba blossom again after he endured a strained relationship with previous manager Jose Mourinho, sacked last month.
The 25-year-old said of his new boss this week: “Before the coach arrived I was in the shadows, on the bench, and I accepted that.
“It is a pleasure to play again. Now I am always smiling.”