Frank Lampard Says Paul Pogba Is a '£90 Million Problem' for Manchester United

Former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard is worried Manchester United have a "£90 million problem" in Paul Pogba.

Lampard, who worked under Red Devils manager Jose Mourinho during their time together with the Blues, was analysing Pogba’s game on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football alongside his former England team-mate Jamie Carragher ahead of Chelsea’s clash with West Ham United.

"You don't want a £90m problem," Lampard suggested, per Robert Cottingham of the MailOnline. "I’m sure [Mourinho] will solve it but at the moment he's not fluent."

Lampard continued, suggesting that Pogba has a lot to learn. "It was a signal of their intentions to spend £90 million on someone I would say isn’t a finished article," he continued. "When you have a £90 million price tag you wonder more.. and you’re left still thinking what player he is... he hasn't quite delivered and he hasn't been a game changer."

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Dominic King of the Daily Mail praised the analysis from Lampard, who is the finest goalscoring midfielder the Premier League has ever seen:

As noted by Lampard, United spent a world-record amount to land the France international from Juventus in the summer. However, with just four goals and three assists in 2016-17 in the top flight, there’s an argument to say he’s not lived up to the price yet.

While Lampard stated he wants to see more from Pogba in the final third, Carragher argued the 23-year-old needs to be doing more defensively too.

"He’s still nowhere near good enough and hasn't got the discipline," the ex-Liverpool man said on the same show. "He’s a liability defensively."

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Pogba’s performance against Bournemouth on Saturday came in for criticism. With the visitors out of form and down to 10 men for much of the contest, there was a chance for the midfielder to drive his team forward to what should have been a routine three points. However, they stumbled to a 1-1 draw.

As noted by Bleacher Report’s Paul Ansorge following the clash at Old Trafford, while the midfielder is capable of moments of brilliance, his performance levels fluctuate wildly:

"

A truly awful performance from when we went 1-0 up onwards. Pogba went from the sublime to the ridiculous.

— Paul (@UtdRantcast) March 4, 2017"

Of course, he’s still a young player and will require time to get used to English football. But Pogba seemingly only thrives in a particular type of set-up—as the most advanced central midfielder in a 4-3-3—and even then, his game is riddled with inconsistency. That will be a worry for Mourinho as he ponders how to lead this team forward.

Pogba is never going to be the type of midfielder who controls the tempo of a match; he plays in flashes, and sometimes they can be enough to win a match for his team. But he needs to find a way of conjuring those bursts much more frequently if he’s to be considered alongside the likes of Lampard when he does eventually hang up his boots.