Fred and Andreas Pereira can replace Pogba, asserts Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Ole Gunnar Solskajer has backed midfielders, Fred and Andreas Pereira, to help the club during Paul Pogba’s absence. The Frenchman has missed 5 games for Manchester United and is in line to miss more due to ankle injury but Solskjaer isn’t worried as he believes that his squad can perform.
Manchester United’s record signing Paul Pogba hasn’t played a single minute of football since the end of August thanks to an ankle injury he suffered and is likely to be out of action till mid-December. Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer remains unfazed by the problem as he believes he has the right players to compensate the Frenchman;’s absence. While talking to the BBC, the Norwegian said that Fred and Andreas Pereira are capable of filling the void that Pogba has left in the midfield.
“Fred and Andreas - they are going to be important for us. Fred will probably take Paul's position for a while now. That's been brilliant for us, but Andreas has grown in the last few games,” Solskjaer told the BBC.
Manchester United prepare to face Chelsea in the Carabao Cup and midfielders Fred and Pereira have started United's last three league games, which have seen the side lose to Newcastle United, draw against Liverpool and beat Norwich City. The former Manchester City signed for the Red Devils in 2018 from Shaktar Donetsk but has failed to find his footing at Old Trafford.
However, Fred's performances off late have started to work for the 26-year-old and Solskjaer believes the midfielder can build on recent performances. The former Molde manager also talked about Pogba’s immense creativity and skills but refrained from talking about the World Cup winner’s future at Manchester United. Pogba is keen to leave the record Premier League champions and join Spanish giants Real Madrid reports indicate and was heavily linked with a move during the summer.
“There's no use talking about who's not going to be here for a long, long time because he's not going to come on the pitch and help us until he's fit. Paul's been brilliant and he is a creative midfielder that we need, but then it is up to the others to step up,” concluded the 46-year-old manager.