Paul Pogba: Neymar's world record fee will make me Manchester United's main man

PAUL POGBA says Neymar’s world record move has eased the pressure on him as he bids to justify his own huge price tag by firing Manchester United to the Premier League title.

00:04, Wed, Aug 16, 2017 | UPDATED: 00:04, Wed, Aug 16, 2017

Paul Pogba GETTY

Paul Pogba joined Manchester United for a then-record fee of £89m

Pogba’s £89m transfer fee from Juventus last summer has been dwarfed by the £198m that Paris St Germain have paid Barcelona for Brazilian striker Neymar.

United manager Jose Mourinho believes it will ease the burden on the France international and Pogba says the scrutiny is now more on his football rather than what he cost.

“You can see for yourself,” he said. “Last season the first question from everyone was always all about the price tag. Now everyone is asking about the football. That tells you everything.”

Pogba, criticised for some of his performances last season, got off to a flyer with the fourth goal to crown a fine personal performance in United’s impressive 4-0 win over West Ham on Sunday.

And he believes that with a full season in English football now under his belt and United strengthened by new signings Romelu Lukaku and Nemanja Matic there is much more to come from him and the team.

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I know more about the Premier League and I adapt more with the team
Man Utd star Paul Pogba

He said: “I know more about the Premier League and I adapt more with the team. It is about the team. When the team performs well, the players perform well to. And I am confident for the team.

“When you know the team more you know how to play along side them. You get on better. You just get a different feeling. You can see against West Ham everybody was getting along well and playing for each other.”

Pogba scored nine goals last season and hit the woodwork nine times but he hopes the presence of Matic in the midfield anchor role will give him more freedom to get forward and score more.

“I hope to get more goals,” he said. “I hope this season I won’t touch the post so much like I did last season. I know the occasion will come and I will always create something.

“Against West Ham, Matic was starting behind and I could worry more about attacking. I feel good playing that way but it depends on what the manager wants. What he wants, we have to do.”

Former United Academy graduate Pogba admits he returned to Old Trafford from Juventus a year ago with a sense of unfinished business – to establish himself as a first team player and help the club to their first League title in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.

“When I finished here the first time, I always felt like I had missed something because I wasn’t a first XI player for Manchester United. Now I’m back and happy to be back. I grew up a lot in Italy and I have come back as a man.

“I came here to win the Premier League and to challenge myself as well. I want to perform well but it is about what the team does.”