Paul Pogba enjoying world-class form under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Pogba has thrived under new Man United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, including a crucial goal and assist in a victory over Chelsea in FA Cup play on Monday.

It’s been extremely clear that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been a huge focal point for this United side since taking over the club at the end of December. The Norwegian has brought a whole new attitude to Old Trafford, with his positivity and wealth of knowledge for the game.

If there was one player who really hated playing under Jose Mourinho, it was Paul Pogba. He was downright miserable under for the Portuguese manager. Frankly, it seemed like everyone was on edge playing for him because there was such a negative attitude in the air every match they played.

Pogba is a world-class midfielder, but it was hard to see that when he was playing for Mourinho based on how he was used. This term before Solskjaer took over, the Frenchman scored just three times in fourteen appearances while tallying three assists. Since the new manager has taken charge, Pogba has been absolutely spectacular. The 25-year old has bagged eight goals and collected five assists in just nine Premier League appearances under Solskjaer. He currently sits in the top ten in both goals and assists in the Premier League, with 11 goals and eight assists.

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Per Sky Sports, Pogba has had 39 attempts in those nine appearances. That’s the same amount of attempts he had in fourteen matches under Mourinho. He’s also created 21 shots on target in the nine matches he’s featured, also the same amount as under Mourinho in five fewer appearances.

Across all competitions, Pogba has been directly involved in 15 goals through twelve appearances, netting nine times and assisting the other six.

Solskjaer has brought the best out of his players by using them in the positions where they have the chance to excel most. Between this and the optimistic attitude the Norwegian has, it’s done wonders for this club.

Why Pogba is excelling under Solskjaer

Solksjaer has tried out several different formations this year depending on the opponent, using a 4-1-2-1-2, 4-3-1-2, and more often than not, a traditional 4-3-3. In all these formations, Pogba tends to either be out on the left in an attacking midfielder role or in the middle as the solo attacker behind the front two, forming a diamond with the strikers.

Solskjaer has made it so pretty much everything runs through Pogba on the attack. He has become the ultimate playmaker who has been absolutely phenomenal at picking out his strikers with through balls or whipping crosses into the box to a sea of red shirts. He’s also now got the chance to surge forward and take opportunities on net, evident by his high amount of goals in such minimal games since the Norwegian has become United’s new boss.

It also helps that Solskjaer was the manager to give Pogba his debut with the United reserves at just 16 years old, so the manager already knows the way he plays and how to bring the best out of him considering he coached him as a youngster.

Recent form makes him best midfielder in the world right now

There’s never been a doubt of Paul Pogba’s potential, it was just simply when were we all going to see him display the midfield class that everyone knew he had on a consistent basis.

It looks like he’s finally doing just that. He’s already at the 14 goal mark this year, and hitting the 20-goal mark is absolutely realistic for the World Cup winner, which would be a career high. It’s safe to say that he could be the best attacking midfielder in the world right now given his recent form since the new year began. With a huge stature, very good technical skill, and a ton of physical presence, Pogba is very special. At just 25, there’s much more to come from him.

He’s got the right man in charge of him. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is proving every single day that he is the right manager for this job, meanwhile bringing the best out of all of his players.

Paul Pogba is emerging as the key player on this Red Devils side, while also being an instrumental leader.