PAUL POGBA reckons his Manchester United team-mate Bruno Fernandes can do anything and everything on the pitch – except defend.
Fernandes, 26, has been a revelation for the Red Devils since his January 2020 move to Old Trafford, scoring 36 goals and providing 22 assists in 71 appearances.
The Portugal midfielder has become an indispensable player for manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, although Pogba reckons he could do with getting better at the defensive side of his job.
He told MUTV: “I enjoy playing with Bruno.
“He’s someone who understands the game and understands the movement that can give you a beautiful pass, he can finish too.
“He’s all over the place, he can do everything really… except defending!
“But really, it’s always a joy to play him, to understand him. He understands me as well, he can take my position, I can take his position as well.
“I think he suits the team, he’s a very dominant influence in our team.”
Pogba’s praise of the former Sporting Lisbon ace comes after United legend Paul Scholes urged Solskjaer to ditch one of his two holding players and play the pair together.
He told BT Sport: “Solskjaer likes the two sitting players, I don’t think there’s a need for both of them.
They need to get Pogba in a linking role with Bruno. If they do, it frees up another position for a forward player.
‘The awareness and cleverness they both have allows each other to link up.
“United’s two cleverest players are Fernandes and Pogba so if you can get them close together, they’ll score a lot and provide goals for others too.
“If they have a more dominant centre back, they could have a more attacking midfield.
“A lot of the time, United that attacking, flowing play, I think Pogba could bring that with Fernandes.
“If you get him in there, it frees up the left for Rashford, there’s no way you’d want to play against that.
“Discipline-wise Pogba isn’t always there at times but going forward he brings something different.”
Manchester United will be back in action on Sunday afternoon, welcoming relegation battlers Burnley to Old Trafford.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
