As Manchester United made a very successful return to the UEFA Champions League with a comfortable 3-0 win over Basel in Group A, there was one glaring negative to take away from the game. It concerned their record signing, Paul Pogba, who picked up a hamstring injury that looks as though it will keep him out of action for the next few weeks. His early season form has been brilliant, and while his layoff could have been much worse, he will still be missed by Jose Mourinho. Their next game sees Wayne Rooney make his way back to Old Trafford as Everton make the trip to Manchester. We look at three players who could potentially replace Pogba in the Red Devils’ midfield.
1Experience
It comes as a surprise that Manchester United’s captain has only made the squad in one of their league games this season. Michael Carrick was confirmed as the United skipper at the beginning of the campaign and yet only made the bench against Stoke, the closest he has got to the pitch in the first four matches. As a player that is widely considered as one of the most underrated players of his generation, the Red Devils certainly would notice a massive downgrade from Pogba should he replace the Frenchman.
Mourinho showed enough faith in Carrick to elect him as the club captain so there is no doubt that he rates the English midfielder and may well choose him for the experience he would bring to the side. However, it has to be said that Herrera or Fellaini are expected to get the nod ahead of him. Anyone of the three players will be capable of putting in a performance that can see United through to a victory, but Ander Herrera would be the most similar player to Paul Pogba. It’ll be interesting to see who Jose Mourinho partners with Matic against Everton.
