Owen Hargreaves has called for the inclusion of Paul Pogba in Ralf Rangnick’s Man Utd team going forward as the midfielder will get the best out of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Pogba has not played for the Red Devils since the beginning of last month after picking up an injury on duty with the France national team over the international break.
He was still missing for Rangnick’s first game in charge as the new interim boss at Man Utd, who beat Crystal Palace 1-0 on Sunday.
Premier League winners and losers is led by Fred!
The 63-year-old watched Thursday’s frantic 3-2 win against Arsenal from the directors’ box at Old Trafford, where he was on the sidelines for the first time on Sunday as Patrick Vieira’s men came to the north west.
And Hargreaves thought the performance against Palace, with Fred scoring the only goal of the game, was a “decent step” towards being one of the best teams in the Premier League.
“If Pogba plays instead of, say, Fred or McTominay and United are playing in one half, then you’ve got another guy that can play a pass into Cristiano Ronaldo,” Hargreaves told Premier League Productions.
“So I thought they played okay, but Marcus [Rashford] was really quiet today, Bruno [Fernandes] was pretty quiet today.
“The full-backs were a big feature. The squad depth is amazing, it’s really, really good.
“So getting those guys, Varane and Pogba, into the side, United have easily one of the strongest teams in the Premier League, but they need to start playing like it. And I thought today was a decent step towards that.”
The decisive moment in #MUNCRY, courtesy of @Fred08Oficial! #MUFC
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 5, 2021
Tim Sherwood, who was also working for Premier League Productions, praised Scott McTominay and Fred and insisted that Man Utd should be “optimistic” for the future under Rangnick.
Sherwood said: “Fred and McTominay, we always criticise them – I mean, everyone has criticised Fred. People always find faults in his game but every single manager that takes over at the football club always plays him. He must be doing something right.
“I think he’s a very responsible player. I think he gives everything, he never lets you down, no self-indulgence in him. He just plays for the team, and I think that’s why he plays. When the manager takes over, they can trust him.
“I think they’ve got two solid boys in there now. They can learn, McTominay can learn as well, in that position. I think he’s capable.
“They’ve got so many options, Cavani to come back as well, Pogba to come back in, Varane. Chasing that top-four spot, there’s not a squad in the Premier League more equipped to get there than Manchester United. With that run of fixtures, Man United fans have got every right to feel optimistic about the future.”
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