Ferdinand: Why Man Utd won’t play Pogba in his ‘best position’

Joe Williams
Paul Pogba Man Utd

Rio Ferdinand thinks that Man Utd boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will choose to play Paul Pogba in a “holding role” this season to accomodate Bruno Fernandes and Donny van de Beek.

Van de Beek – who arrived from Ajax for around £40m – is the Red Devils only new signing this summer with their pursuit of top target Jadon Sancho reportedly reaching an impasse.

There is speculation as to what the Man Utd midfield will look like for their first Premier League match against Crystal Palace next Saturday, with the likes of Nemanja Matic, Scott McTominay and Fred still part of Solskjaer’s squad.


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On how he sees the Man Utd midfield lining up this season, Ferdinand told BBC Radio Five Live: “Well that is the big question, I think.

“Listen, if you say you’re going to play your best players in that midfield and you’re going to play three, then you’d say Paul Pogba playing in the holding role and Fernandes and Van de Beek being the guys that are playing around that, a bit more free and able to move around and create.

“Is that Paul Pogba’s best position? I would argue not. But you have to look at what Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants to do. Does he want his best players on the pitch or is he talking about players fitting in a system?

“I think that’s the intriguing part for me going into the season from Man United’s perspective in terms of the signing that they made, that player.

“Is he just going to be named as one of the best players in the team and he’s going to play, or are we going to say we want the system for the players to fit into.

“It’ a big call and that remains to be seen, but I still think Manchester United will have some sort of movement and there will be additions in this squad going into the season, if not the first week the second or third.”

On whether Van de Beek improves the squad, Ferdinand added: “I think that remains to be seen. I think we have to wait and see, give it a bit of time.

“I think all new signings need time normally, Bruno Fernandes last season was probably an exception. But I had a good look at Van de Beek when he was playing for Ajax in the Champions League – not last season, the season before especially, when Spurs got the final and Spurs beat them.

“But on that run I thought he was very, very good. He impressed me no end and I think he showed some qualities that will be a great addition to the Man United squad.

“Is he the position that I thought Man United needed desperately? I would say no. But we still have three weeks left in the window so we’ll see.”