Manchester United Fan View: The Derby will define Paul Pogba’s United future

At the beginning of January Paul Pogba was still Manchester United’s most influential outfield player.

The future was starting to emerge, too, because supporters could picture Pogba, who up until the defeat at Tottenham Hotspur on January 31 hadn’t tasted Premier League defeat for close to 15 months, linking up with Luke Shaw and Alexis Sanchez on the left side for United for years to come.

But in the last three months that has all disintegrated. Shaw is back on the naughty step, probably for good, Sanchez has disappointed, while Pogba’s terrible showing at Wembley and his substitution in that game proved to just be the beginning of his downward spiral. Pogba failed to react in subsequent games, so Mourinho turned to Scott McTominay.

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Manchester United’s 2-0 win over Swansea on Saturday marked Pogba’s first start in three matches. And while, admittedly, the game was over inside 20 minutes and the opposition were underwhelming, Pogba at least showed some signs of recovery, the highlight of which was a delightful through ball to Mata that the Spaniard should have finished.

After the game Pogba talked the talk, too, looking to a future that could profit from his recent struggles, as he declared, “[being benched] can strengthen me. You have to go through these periods to make you stronger.”

Unfortunately for Pogba, though, he seemingly isn’t allowed such periods. All of the French player’s woes are immediately amplified, as his price tag is brought into the equation, and his past importance to the team, his impressive return of assists, as well as his long unbeaten run is glossed over.

Not just by the media, but by Mourinho, too. McTominay, a player that most United fans are still trying to suss out, has been brought in and his disciplined, no-nonsense approach has been embraced. In fairness, United have looked more balance with McTominay in the side. But rather than being with Pogba it is at the expense of him.

After playing the pair for most of the game against Sevilla, in the victory over Chelsea and in the first half against Crystal Palace, Mourinho has since just picked one or the other.

Most of the time it has been McTominay, who impressed in the absence of an injured Pogba against Liverpool and was then preferred against Sevilla and Brighton when the Frenchman was fit. Pogba returned against Swansea, with McTominay emerging from the bench in injury time. But even though there were a couple of moments of magic he still felt restrained.

The next few games, especially Saturday against Manchester City, will define Pogba’s future.

If Pogba isn’t selected, it is impossible to see a future for Manchester United’s record signing at Old Trafford. Why would he stay? He has the talent. But either he doesn’t feel comfortable, Mourinho is holding him back or it is a combination of the two.

Even if he does play, he’ll have to impress, too. Pogba undoubtedly can do just that, but there’s a growing sense that Mou sees the Frenchman as a Luke Shaw rather than Nemanja Matic.

That’s something that Pogba himself might have noticed. Because while he insisted during the same interview that he has “no problem with Mourinho,” he answered the question of whether he was thinking of leaving United with, “It’s too early to say. The situation can change.”

The last 3 months is the primary evidence that is the case. But Saturday might just be the point of no return.