Paul Pogba returned to Premier League action at the weekend to great effect as he delivered an excellent midfield performance to help Manchester United come from behind to beat Newcastle United.
His comeback has major Draft Fantasy ramifications across the pitch at Old Trafford, with a number of players now looking better to own as a result.
In the six competitive fixtures that the midfielder has played in this season, United have won five of them. They are a much better team when they have the Frenchman in the line-up and that showed on Saturday.
The 24-year-old contributed a goal and an assist against Newcastle, as he showed the influence he can have on a game.
In Draft Fantasy, he scored 13 points and that gives him an average of 10.2 points per game this season.
There is only a small sample of data, but this underlines his importance for Manchester United and if he can stay fit, he is a great player to own in your midfield.
It was evident on Saturday that everything went through Pogba in the middle of the park. He ended the game with two attempted shots, two key passes, three completed dribbles, four successful aerial duels and a pass success rate of 84%.
The French international is a complete midfielder that is central to United’s style of play. The most noticeable part to his game was how effective he is in transitioning the ball from defence to attack.
He can play passes that give the attackers an extra second in the final third and that makes the team very dangerous when he is on the pitch. They scored four times against Newcastle, but they could have scored more on another day.
In addition to being the key creative part, Pogba offers a goal threat of his own and he often chooses the right time to make runs into the box. He got the third Manchester United goal on Saturday and his movement did cause problems throughout.
His contributions against Newcastle have taken his season tally to three goals and three assists.
For a midfielder playing behind the attacking line, this is an impressive achievement and Jose Mourinho will be hoping that he can maintain it for the rest of the season.
There is a chance that Pogba is unowned in your league as he is just returning from an injury. If that is the case and you are high in the Waivers queue, he would be a great addition heading into the Christmas period.
He will start every match if he is fit and he is producing good numbers up to now. Saturday showed that he is fit and firing immediately and he won’t need a settling in period after his injury.
If he is owned by another manager, then it is unlikely you can attain him, but if the opportunity arises, you should take it.
An interesting side note to Pogba is the value he adds to a number of other players in the Manchester United squad.
His quality in transition means that the side should now create more and better chances, which means the rest of the attacking players are more attractive to own.
On Saturday, the two wing-backs, Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young, were regularly found in acres of space, while Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial could take up more dangerous central positions.
If Paul Pogba maintains fitness, he and every other Manchester United attacker is appealing to own.
Recent Comments