Man Utd will now see the real Pogba with Matic arrival

It was hard not to feel a little sorry for Paul Pogba during his first season back at Manchester United. Handed the unenviable crown as the world’s most-expensive footballer, the Frenchman’s transition was hardly helped by the fact he so rarely got the opportunity to play in his favourite role.

But the news that Nemanja Matic is on the verge of completing a £40 million transfer from Chelsea will be music to Pogba’s ears, with Jose Mourinho finally having found the key to balancing his midfield and allowing the former Juventus man to play from his natural position on the left of the central three.

For much of the 2016-17 season, Pogba found himself asked to play a role as one of the two men at the base of midfield, or he started from the No.10 position higher up the pitch. It was a frustration to some onlookers that in neither role was he able to dominate the game as he had been perceived to have done for Juventus before his £89.5m move.

With Matic’s imminent arrival comes the chance for Mourinho to finally use Pogba as part of a trio in midfield. United did increasingly use the 4-3-3 formation towards the end of last term, but that was regularly for the sake of getting Marouane Fellaini into the starting XI at a time when the Europa League quest had become their one and only focus.