Is Pogba set to justify his price tag and guide Manchester United to the ‘Promised Land’?

José Mourinho has seemingly thrown in the towel in his quest for a top-four finish and will now need to win the Europa League, if Manchester United are to secure Champions League football next season.

While putting all your eggs in one basket can be a dangerous tactic, a 1 goal 1st leg lead may well be sufficient to ensure that United squeeze past Celta Vigo and book their place in the Europa League final.

Having said that, Mourinho might not have been too pleased to see Paul Pogba trending in the news ahead of the return leg with the Spanish side, following revelations that his world record transfer from Juventus to United was being investigated by FIFA. The game’s world governing body have apparently requested additional information to what is already available in their ‘Transfer Matching System’ database.

It’s a story that is likely to run for some time!

However, despite the fact that Pogba has only contributed  a mediocre 4 goals and 3 assists in the Premier League since returning to Old Trafford, his performances in the Europa League have gone some way to justifying his price tag.

Oulala have examined their own database of Europa League stats, to reveal that the French youngster comes out on top in 4 key areas out of the 777 players that have participated in the competition, as well as featuring among the top 12 in 5 other instances.

 

Pogba has certainly shouldered his fair share of responsibility in the competition, ranking 1st for both total passes and total shots.

If he can produce a similar level of performance in the semi-final 2nd leg and the final itself, he might just do enough to guide United to the ‘Promised Land’ of the Champions League.

Fantasy football managers should take note!