‘I Don’t Want To Praise Him Too Much,’ Paul Pogba’s Message For Young Man Utd Teammate

Paul Pogba has said he does not want to "praise" his Manchester United’s teammate Mason Greenwood because he wants the young talented forward to “get to where he belongs”.

Greenwood has scored 16 goals so far in the 2019-20 season for Man Utd and is expected to bag the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) Young Player of the Year’s award. The 18-year-old could earn an England call-up as well when the international season kick-starts September.

After Greenwood forced his way into Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s starting XI last month at the cost of dropping Daniel James, the teenage sensation scored five goals in the last seven matches including his stunning brace against Bournemouth and his recent strike against the Villa Park team.

Pogba, who has blended well with the Red Devils squad since his return from injury June, has vowed to back Greenwood and help him reach the pinnacle of soccer.

After Man Utd were held at a 2-2 draw by Southampton in their latest Premier League outing, Pogba once again hailed Greenwood.

Speaking to the United program, Pogba said, "Everybody knows about his talent but we've seen talented players here doing great at the start and then end up at other teams. We don't want that. We want to protect him and how to protect him, for me, is just to say that he didn't do anything yet. He knows it. I like to speak to him. I want to see him, with his quality and talent, score above 15 goals a season and with the time we have left, easy. He knows he has to work hard and that he's not there yet."

In the same interview, Pogba also mentioned that Greenwood has not reached his peak yet and the youngster must work to achieve it.

"Mason has a lot of time, he's still very young, but I will say, 'Mason, you're not there yet'. He has a long road. Of course, we have to look after him, help him work harder, and push himself to become a great player. That's what we want him to be and that's how he has to have his mindset. He has to want to be the top scorer, he has to keep this in mind and have this mentality - work hard, push yourself, and he has everything to do it. I don't want to praise him too much. I want to push him to get to where he belongs," added Pogba.

After missing the majority of the season due to multiple injuries, Pogba recently scored his first goal of the season and helped Man Utd defeat Aston Villa 3-0. The Red Devils are currently placed fifth in the Premier League table and they have another three games left in the 2019-20 Premier League season.