How Paul Pogba will fit in at Manchester United - and why Jose Mourinho needs to rip up his plans

Ed Woodward’s job is done: Paul Pogba has finally made his world-record return to Manchester United, completing his move from Juventus for a reported fee of £89 million.

There will be much back-slapping around the club now it's done and dusted - not least in the marketing department, which now has at its disposal one of the most charismatic and entertaining young players in the game, though the fact that he is apparently retaining his own image rights will limit how much they can get out of him.

For Jose Mourinho, however, there will be huge pressure: the pressure of how best to use the most expensive player of all time and ensure that United’s huge outlay gets the desired return.

For all Pogba’s genius, it is not a foregone conclusion. United have not agreed to sign Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi – players who can dominate any occasion through pure willpower alone. Pogba is a thrilling talent but, as we saw at Euro 2016, needs the right alchemy around him to excel. For now at least.

France’s run to the final, accompanied by a groundswell of national emotion, and their ultimately heartbreaking loss to Portugal at the Stade de France are instructive when it comes to the question of how Pogba would be best used by United.

Jose Mourinho is at heart a 4-2-3-1 man. At Chelsea over the past two seasons he often used Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic in a midfield two behind Oscar as a No. 10; when he first arrived at the club it was Frank Lampard and Claude Makelele with Eidur Gudjohnsen playing off a striker.

Added to his own predilections, United have a top-heavy squad when it comes to talent and this summer have added Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan to a squad which already boasted Antony Martial, Wayne Rooney, Marcus Rashford, Memphis Depay and Juan Mata.

Under such circumstances It is surely likely that United will use three forwards behind Ibrahimovic, leaving two spots in midfield. That means United could look something like this at the start of the new season:

But there are problems with this formation. The first is a lack of talented players to slot in alongside Pogba in the two deeper roles. We have opted for Morgan Schneiderlin, who accompanied him in the France squad for Euro 2016, while Michael Carrick, Marouane Fellaini and Daley Blind are other options. None are particularly convincing.

The second problem was evident at the Euros. From the second half of their win over Ireland in the last-16, France’s default shape was a 4-2-3-1 with Pogba being partnered by Blaise Matuidi, a superior player to Schneiderlin. This initially worked well as France came from behind to beat the Irish and then destroyed Iceland 5-2 with the following team:

Pogba scored a booming header against Iceland but had still not set the competition alight. Something was missing, even if France seemed to have clicked. Deschamps had a big decision to make for the semi-final against Germany but, desperate to keep Antoine Griezmann in a central role, opted against bringing N’Golo Kante back into the team to bolster the midfield.

France went 1-0 up through a Griezmann penalty but Germany were bossing the game, their midfield three of Toni Kroos, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Emre Can bypassing Pogba with ease. Suddenly, though, Pogba conjured up a magnificent assist for Griezmann’s second goal as he bewitched Shkodran Mustafi with some magical, intricate footwork after attacking the box, delivering a teasing cross which forced Manuel Neuer into an error as the ball landed kindly for Griezmann.

The French media labelled this passage of play ‘Le Festival Paul Pogba’ – but what had brought him to life?

Less than 60 seconds before Pogba felt liberated enough to humiliate Mustafi, Deschamps made a substitution. Off came Dimitri Payet and on came Kante to anchor the midfield. As soon as Pogba had been relieved of the yoke of defensive responsibility he immediately sprung forward and made a difference.

Deschamps’ reshuffle meant Kante was the deepest midfielder with Matuidi and Pogba just ahead of him. It was from this position which Pogba attacked Germany with the kind of intent we had all too rarely seen from the poster boy of the tournament.

Pogba felt immediately comfortable in this three-man configuration because Juventus have used it ever since his arrival in 2012 – first under Antonio Conte and then Massimiliano Allegri, who adopted his predecessor’s 3-5-2 formation. Pogba has spent spells playing as the deepest player of the three but most often has been one of the advanced two, with the glittering cast of supporting stars including Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal, Claudio Marchisio and Sami Khedira.

Last season, as Pogba recorded a fourth Serie A trophy in a row, he reached another level. The Frenchman was in the top 20 players in the Italian top flight for goals, assists, shots, chances created, through balls, tackles and successful dribbles; his eight goals and 12 assists made for a combined 20 in Serie A – a personal best. It was a complete season.

To use a 2-1 win over Milan in April as an example – a game in which Pogba scored the winning goal – this was the tactical system (if you imagine Marchisio sitting a bit deeper) which allowed Allegri to coax the best ever season from his star player.

The lesson, surely, is that Pogba is at his best with two midfielders around him. The good news for United is that Mourinho is certainly not averse to this solution.

At Chelsea he changed things up after the signing of Michael Essien in 2005 to include the Ghanaian alongside Makelele and Lampard. This was how Chelsea lined up in their 3-0 win over Manchester United in the third-to-last game of their 2005-06 title-winning season:

The question really is whether United have the players to accomodate such a formation. With Pogba in the Lampard role, you might have to use Michael Carrick or Marouane Fellaini in the Essien position, with Schneiderlin in the Makelele role. Nether comparison flatters the United players in the equation.

It would also mean removing one of the attacking players and switching to a front three. If, as expected, Ibrahimovic starts, then this would surely mean the bench for Rooney as he does not have the mobility Mourinho demands of his wide players.

Dropping the United captain would be a decision with huge political consequences; it was one Roy Hodgson proved unable to make at the Euros as he instead tried to find a place for his skipper in midfield. Mourinho has emphatically ruled out doing the same, so if it’s a 4-3-3 maybe United would line up like this:

With such a huge price tag, big things will be expected of Pogba – and immediately. But until he has midfielders around him of the calibre he enjoyed at Juventus, it might take some time for the Frenchman to reach his full potential in the United team.

Still, if Mourinho can find it within himself to do what Hodgson could not and drop Rooney, then the 4-3-3 looks the best bet to ensure Pogba flourishes into the player United hope he will be.

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