Manchester United news: Paul Pogba is 'all over the place', says Paul Scholes as he criticises record transfer

Pogba has come in for intense criticism following his poor displays in the Manchester derby defeat and Thursday's Europa League loss at Feyenoord

Paul Pogba was criticised by Paul Scholes in the wake of Manchester United's 1-0 defeat by Feyenoord (Getty)

Paul Scholes believes Manchester United’s world record signing Paul Pogba is “all over the place” since completing his £89m move from Juventus as the club slumped to a second consecutive defeat in the Europa League clash with Feyenoord.

The former United midfielder watched on from the sidelines as United suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat at De Kuip, with Tonny Vilhena scoring the decisive goal 11 minutes from time to get the Dutch side off to a dream start. It leaves Jose Mourinho’s side reeling from a second loss in as many matches following last weekend’s defeat in the Manchester derby, and Pogba has come in for extra criticism after both matches for losing his positioning.

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher launched a scathing assessment of Pogba at the start of the week in which he claimed he “felt sorry” for Pogba’s midfield partner Marouane Fellaini, and Scholes has echoed his former England teammate’s comments by adding that he doesn’t see Pogba playing in a designated position.

“It’s been a little bit of a struggle for him so far,” Scholes said on BT Sport. “Tonight, again, wasn’t his best performance. I think it will come. It’s still very early days.

“I don’t really know what position he’s playing at the minute. Has he got a position? Has he been told to play where he wants?

“He seems to be a little all over the place at times. I think he’s trying to do too much on the ball.

“He’s trying to beat three or four players. He's running with the ball. He should keep it simple for now.

“That’s not the player Manchester United bought. They didn’t buy a Lionel Messi to go and beat five players and stick it in the top corner all the time. They bought a powerful, strong midfield player who can take the ball. He’s got skill, he can pass it forward, he can run.”

Despite the difficult week, Pogba is little more than a month into his second spell at Old Trafford and Scholes has backed him to come good and develop into the player United fans are currently demanding of him – mainly due to his world record transfer fee.

“If he just plays one-two touch, sticks the ball into Zlatan (Ibrahimovic) and runs, nobody can live with that,” Scholes added. “He's got so much pace, so much power.”

Scholes addressed the issue of who plays alongside Pogba, given that Fellaini appears unable to control the drifting Frenchman, and he suggested that Michael Carrick would be a more suitable option until Jose Mourinho could add another midfielder in the transfer window to bring some creativity to United’s midfield partnership.

“He needs a controlling midfield player next to him,” said Scholes.

Pogba was criticised for his positioning and lack of control in the defeat by Fenerbahce (Getty)

“They probably need to go into the transfer market for somebody like that. Michael (Carrick) is capable of it.

“But they still need that controlling midfielder, who can control where Paul goes and can control a game of football

“I know he’s (Mourinho) happy with the four players he’s bought but they still need that type of player. A Luka Modric or a Toni Kroos (the Real Madrid midfield pair).

“I think these players are available. I think Paul Pogba would be a much better player playing with these types of players.”