Graeme Souness damns Paul Pogba with faint praise after Manchester United star’s four assists vs Leeds

Paul Pogba may have notched four assists against Leeds, but according to Graeme Souness, it is the least that Manchester United fans should expect for his price tag.

Pogba was in sensational form for United as they kicked off their Premier League season with a 5-1 rout of Leeds at Old Trafford on Saturday.

The World Cup winner set up four of United's five goals as Bruno Fernandes bagged a hat-trick, while Mason Greenwood and Fred also got on the scoresheet.

Pogba has not quite lived up to the great expectations placed on his shoulders since rejoining United from Juventus in 2016, though given he played a key role in France's 2018 World Cup triumph, it could also be argued he has lacked quality players around him at Old Trafford.

The midfielder's contract runs out next summer and his future remains unclear, but it looks as if he may be forming a potent relationship with the likes of Fernandes and Greenwood this season.

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However, former Liverpool defender Souness has been a vocal critic of Pogba over the years, and says the bar must be set high for a player who cost almost £100million - or £89.3m, to be precise.

Asked on Sky Sports how many title contenders there would be this season, Souness replied: "Four. I think you have to include United in that. Looking at them yesterday, they looked threatening, positive, they've got a bit of momentum, the crowd seemed to be with them, signed good players.

"For me yesterday, the star of the show was Greenwood. For a young boy, I though he was sensational."

Fellow pundit Micah Richards laughed in response, stating: "Pogba's had four assists!"

But Souness responded: "We expect that from a £100m man."

The former Liverpool defender also suggested Greenwood's display may see United end up regretting spending £73m on Jadon Sancho if the academy graduate continues this form.

"I was gonna get round to the point that they spend £70-odd million on Sancho; maybe that might be something they look back on and think 'did we need to spend that money?' because that boy is a player.

"He's a finisher, and I think he's going to be a top player."

It seems unlikely that United will regret having two of England’s most promising forwards in their squad, especially when it looks like Greenwood started up front against Leeds and looks like he is being developed to become the man to likely replace Edinson Cavani come the end of the season.

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