Jose Mourinho is confident Paul Pogba can significantly improve on his first full season at Old Trafford and score at least 15 goals, according to reports.
The France international, who is on the verge of losing his status as the world’s most expensive footballer with Neymar closing in on a £198million move to PSG, failed to fully justify his hefty price tag last term, struggling to re-acclimatise to the demands of the Premier League.
Pogba scored 10 times in all competitions, but his tally would have been significantly higher had it not been for the woodwork which denied him on 10 occasions.
Pogba on his woodwork struggles
‘I wanted to score,’ he said. ‘Then, after I didn’t score, I hit the crossbar like the other chances I’ve had.
‘At one point I thought ‘I don’t know what’s going on here, something must be going on!’
‘I think I’ve hit the bar more in eight months here than I did in four years at Juventus. It’s strange, but I’m still happy.’
The Independent reports that Mourinho’s frustrations in the transfer market had him contemplating asking Pogba to play in a more defensive position this term, but the arrival of Nemanja Matic, who joined in a £40m deal from Chelsea last week, has eased the Special One’s concerns ahead of the big kick-off.
Mourinho is said to feel confident that the Serbia international’s presence can fully unlock Pogba’s true attacking potential which he hopes will yield an improvement of at least six goals.
Pogba has failed to score in any of Manchester United’s six games during pre-season so far but will have a chance to open his account when his side takes on Sampdoria in Dublin on Wednesday evening.
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