MANCHESTER UNITED star Paul Pogba has always been a show off – but football needs him.
That is the view of Watford midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure, who will go up against Pogba on Saturday.
Pogba, the £89million Manchester United star, has been criticised for too many tricks and not enough consistency ever since he returned to the club in the summer of 2016.
Pogba’s United future has had a cloud hanging over it this summer after his World Cup triumph with France, with rumours of a move to Barcelona and of a fallout with manager Jose Mourinho.
But Doucoure, who played alongside Pogba in France’s youth teams from Under 17 to 21, believes the midfielder has always had this dash of devilment in him and that is what makes him such a brilliant player on his day.
Premier League surprise team Watford, who have won their first four games, face Pogba’s troubled United tomorrow at Vicarage Road and could go top of the table for only the second time in their history if they win, which would pile more trouble on Mourinho and his team.
But Doucoure said: “I played with Paul since the U17s. He was always the same.
“He likes to show off a little bit. Both on and off the pitch.
“He has this personality – because he is good on the pitch as well. It’s good for him.
“Paul brings a lot of personality, and shows-off sometimes. But it’s good in to have that in football.”
Doucoure, unlike Pogba, is yet to win a full cap for France.
He added: “We still speak. I sent him a message after the World Cup to congratulate him.
“He’s a very nice guy, very natural. Today there’s a different dimension, because he is a superstar, but he was always the same.
“He liked to laugh, to talk about everything.
“At Under 17 he was physically, the same as he is today. He was in advance of everyone else.
“And he had his technique. He grew up in Italy, and he did very good things in England with United.
“Of course, is a very important player for United now. We have to be aware of him, he will be very dangerous for us.”
Source:www.express.co.uk