Paul Scholes praises Pogba for cutting 'out all the flashy stuff' at Man Utd

Paul Scholes has heaped praise of Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba for cutting 'out all the flashy stuff' to deliver recent excellent performances for his side.

The France World Cup winner has failed to produce consistent performances for United since re-joining them in an £89million move from Juventus in 2016, but has excelled recently and scored the winner against Burnley to take Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side top of the Premier League table earlier this week.

The 27-year-old appears to have been usurped as the club's primary midfielder by Bruno Fernandes and the Frenchman's future at the club was brought into doubt last month when his agent Mino Raiola claimed his time at Old Trafford was over.

But speaking to ESPN, Scholes believes the Portuguese star has only helped bring the best out of his French team-mate, who the former United and England midfielder praised for knuckling down and performing how he has for France and Juventus previously.

'At times, Paul seemed to play with the expectation that he had to win a game by himself and do everything, but Bruno [Fernandes] has come in and become a match-winner and creator,' Scholes said.

'All of the stats show how important Bruno has been to the team, but his presence has brought the best out of Pogba.

'Ever since his agent said he wanted to leave United last month, he [Pogba] has really performed.

'He has got his head down, cut out all of the flashy stuff and now looks like the Pogba that plays for France - the one that won the World Cup - in that he keeps it simple and performs consistently. I hope it continues because if it does, he can be a player that really makes a difference between now and the end of the season.

'He has all the ability in the world - he proved that in a good team at Juventus and with France - so it is up to him now.

'Ole will wonder at times if he can trust Pogba, but his recent performances have been nothing but positive.'

Despite understanding why Solskjaer may not trust Pogba on all occasions, Scholes was frustrated that the France international was left out of the last Premier League game failed to win on Boxing Day at Leicester City.

Speaking to BT Sport after their 2-2 stalemate at the King Power Stadium - in which Pogba started on the bench - Scholes said:

'United were better when they made the subs. I thought they left the best players on the bench.

'Pogba was good when he came on, [Edinson] Cavani too. [Mason] Greenwood is a good player but didn't get on. I don't think United should leave these players out.'

But following his recent upturn in form Pogba is unlikely to be left out of United's crunch top-of-the-table clash against top-flight champions Liverpool on Sunday, with just three points separating the sides.