Even without playing, Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba still made headlines this weekend, as he revealed his club mentors- Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes.
United Manager Jose Mourinho, following United’s resounding 4-0 home win over Everton yesterday, rubbished the idea that Pogba will be out until November.
Mourinho maintained that there is no definitive time table for the return of Pogba (more on that here). Whether Mourinho was being straight-forward or whether he was intentionally obfuscating, the truth is that Pogba isn’t coming back for awhile.
In the meantime, while the Frenchman convalesces, the Man United online community is discussing a couple of Pogba related narratives. The first is United winger Henrikh Mkhitaryan admitting that United are in a very difficult place without Pogba right now. The second is the £89 million man discussing the positive influence that Carrick and Scholes have had on him.
In the United official game program yesterday, Pogba said:
“I’ve learned from Paul Scholes and Michael. I’m still learning from Michael. He is an example for me and I always look at him in training. I listen to his advice – every time, before a game, he comes to talk to me and he will ask me things and keep me calm. To be honest, he is a mentor to me and someone I look up to.”
Pogba isn’t the only individual at Old Trafford to feel the enriching effects of Carrick’s tremendous leadership abilities, as the elder statesman Englishman was handed the club captaincy this summer when Wayne Rooney returned to Everton.
Pogba also extolled the virtues of Scholes, who is considered by many to among the greatest midfielders of all time.
“Scholesy may not be here anymore but when I was younger I was looking at him a lot as a midfielder,” Pogba continued. “To come on for him in his testimonial as a young player was a dream come true.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now and Minute Media. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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