Souness refuses to praise Pogba as his four assists should be ‘expected’
Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness has had a dig at Paul Pogba even though he got four assists as Manchester United beat Leeds United 5-1 on Saturday.
Man United’s 2021/22 season got underway at Old Trafford on Saturday against their arch-rivals Leeds United.
Bruno Fernandes put the Red Devils ahead before Luke Ayling equalised from long range just after the restart.
Pogba raises Man Utd ceiling, Bruno raises the floor
The hosts hit their stride thereafter though. Fernandes completed his hat-trick, while Mason Greenwood and Fred made it five.
Pogba provided four assists in the game. This sees him overtake his tally of assists last season, as he only grabbed three across his 26 league outings.
“Of course when Bruno scores three and Paul gets four assists, the headlines are going to be about them two.
“But for me it’s about the team. Those two can produce the big moments because of what’s around them. Mason [Greenwood]’s development has been great. He’s become a man compared to two years ago.
“I’m very happy with the status at the moment. We waited for Raphael [Varane] to get everything sorted. That meant a lot to the fans, and Jadon [Sancho] will get better and better. We’ve got a few more coming back, so good times.”
Souness was unwilling to praise Pogba for his showing. Speaking ahead of Newcastle vs West Ham on Sunday, he suggested that Greenwood was Man United’s “star” against Leeds.
Micah Richards quickly chimed in to point out that Pogba got four assists. Souness then argued that this is “expected” given the midfielder’s price tag:
Souness 🗣 "For me, the star of the show was Greenwood."
Micah 🗣 "Pogba's had four assists."
Souness 🗣 "We expect that from a 100 million pound man."@MicahRichards not allowing Graeme Souness to forget Paul Pogba's performance against Leeds United pic.twitter.com/IvRPkHo6ir
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) August 15, 2021
“I think he’ll stay. When he was playing a couple of years ago in a team that wasn’t quite functioning as well as this one looks like it might do, and with the amount of attacking players he’s got, the ability he’s got.
“I think he’ll add a lot to this team. I think he’ll end up signing a new contract.
“If this team carries on in this manner, progressing like it is – I don’t want to get too excited – but it’s a team that can go on and win trophies and that’s what he wants to do.”
