Paul Pogba ‘cannot be happy’ at Manchester United, admits France coach Didier Deschamps

France coach believes playing the midfielder out of position combined with leaving him out of important matches and injury setbacks will have seriously impacted his happiness at Old Trafford

Paul Pogba was left out of the starting line-up for Manchester United’s must-win Premier League clash with Everton (Reuters)

France midfielder Paul Pogba “cannot be happy” at Manchester United after being dropped by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, according to his national team coach.

Didier Deschamps believes the midfielder’s struggles to rediscover his best form at Old Trafford will be significantly affecting his happiness at the club, having been left out of the starting line-up for the weekend’s crucial 3-1 victory over Everton.

Pogba has been linked with a second move away from United in recent years but chose to remain in the Premier League due to the lack of realistic avenues out of the club, having returned from Juventus for £89m four years ago, while United are reluctant to give up on him after working so hard to bring him back to the club.

But Deschamps is convinced all is not well with the 27-year-old, and believes that a combination of being played out of position - if at all - and a series of setbacks that included being diagnosed with coronavirus has left the 2018 World Cup winner in a bad spell in his career.

“Paul, I know him well and he knows the group well,” Descamps said in a press conference on Monday ahead of France’s international friendly against Finland tomorrow before the Nations League games with Portugal and Sweden.

“He is in a situation with his club where he cannot be happy, neither with his playing time, nor with his positioning.

“He is not in his best period, he has had a series of injuries and the Covid-19 which has hit him quite hard. He needs to find his rhythm. The match he had to make last month was good and consistent despite a lack of pace. We cannot however say that he is fulfilled in what he does at his club.”

That said, Deschamps sees no reason to drop Pogba from his squad as he believes players are able to keep their form for club and country separate, with no concerns over his recent appearances for the national side.

“With me, there is no such concern, but I try to manage it too,” Deschamps added. “When a player is in discomfort in his club, obviously, he is happy to play for the France team.

“He will tell me about his feelings and as I know him very well, it will go in a positive direction. Even if it is also up to him to make all his efforts.”

Deschamps has no concerns over Pogba’s international form (EPA)

Pogba talked up a future move to Real Madrid during the international window last month with comments that did not go down well at Old Trafford, but the Spanish club have shown faint interest in any move for the midfielder so far, leaving the former Juventus midfielder to fight for his place among United’s bloated midfield.

Solskjaer elected to leave Pogba out of his starting XI last weekend in what was a pivotal game at Goodison Park, with the Norwegian instead electing to deploy Fred and Scott McTominay alongside Bruno Fernandes.