Why would Barcelona want Paul Pogba at the moment?

Why would Barcelona even want Paul Pogba after this? The problem isn’t going away, it’s getting bigger.

Pogba wants Barca. As it stands, the feeling is mutual from the Nou Camp.

Though you can only question their judgement after this entirely disinterested display from Manchester United’s record signing.

Fair enough, he’s won the World Cup. What’s for sure, he strolled around the London Stadium with the air of a man who believes his own hype.

There’s a lot to say for a player with self confidence. It helps, of course. But when things aren’t going your way, then graft. Graft some more. Or at the very least look you care, like you’re keeping busy.

There was a moment here at London Stadium when the Frenchman chased down Declan Rice like his life depended on it to win the ball back for his side.

For just a few seconds, Pogba forgot the persona. So infuriated that Rice had the temerity to take ball off him, he made it his business to get it back.

So you can do it, Paul? You do care. Therein encapsulates United’s frustrations.

The raw materials are there. There’s no question about that. But the application - at least right now - is absent.

Brilliant one moment, abject the next. A flick over his head to evade Mark Noble and Pablo Zabaleta was sublime.

His no-look pass that rolled out for a goal kick just 30 seconds later less so.

The animosity between Pogba and Jose Mourinho is abundantly clear. The tensions between player and manager will remain - there’s too much water under the bridge for a genuine reconciliation.

The issues are bound to affect performance; that is only normal. Yet United and their supporters deserve far better than what they are getting at the moment.

Pogba should have taken this game by the scruff of the neck. Instead he was on peripheries - a mere sub-plot that, in all honesty, Mourinho could have done without.

Instead it was a teenager in Rice and 31-year-old Noble that ran the show in midfield.

There were concerns from Hammers manager Manuel Pellegrini that Noble, given his age and miles on the clock, lacked the legs to remain a consistent performer in the Premier League.

But the decision to deploy youthful Rice and Pedro Obiang next to him in the West Ham engine room has given Noble a new lease of life.

His role in two of West Ham’s three goals against United merely underling his influence on proceedings.

Likewise, Rice is looking more impressive with every week. It’s hard to think of another 19-year-old player in England who is as advanced in his development.

No wonder England are trying to persuade him to switch allegiances from the Republic of Ireland.

By the time Noble played in Marko Arnautovic for West Ham’s third of the afternoon, Pogba was off the pitch - or put out of his misery depending on how you look at it.

Ironic cheers greeted the Frenchman’s substitution in the 70th minute. Understandably, Pogba wasn’t so cheerful; stoney-faced as he trudged off after an afternoon that will only serve to raise more questions about his future at Old Trafford.

A pat on the back from Mourinho greeted Pogba as he departed; though there was hardly a glance in the Portuguese’s direction from the player himself.

If Pogba has his way, he won’t have to look at Mourinho much longer. Suffice to say, the feeling is mutual.