Alan Shearer and Micah Richards have picked out similarities between Paul Pogba and his Manchester United predecessor Juan Sebastian Veron.
United set new Premier League transfer records by signing Veron and Pogba, with the former arriving from Lazio for £28million in 2001 and and the latter joining from Juventus for £89million 15 years later.
Veron never replicated his best form at Old Trafford and joined Chelsea after two years, enduring an equally-unsuccessful season with the Blues before returning to Italy.
Pogba, meanwhile, has also struggled to live up to his price tag and he was in the headlines for the wrong reasons last month for a straight red card against Liverpool.
The Frenchman's horror challenge on Naby Keita came after a steady decline in form following a brilliant, assist-laden start to the season.
Do you see similarities between Paul Pogba and Juan Sebastian Veron? Have your say in the comments!
Premier League-winners Shearer and Richards agree Pogba has phenomenal ability only to be let down by his consistency, and the duo likened the World Cup winner to Veron.
"I just remember him (Veron) being a flash in the pan, before he came to Man United you expected big things," former Manchester City defender Richards told the Match of the Day Top 10 podcast .
"He’s like Pogba. Pogba’s stayed longer but when you watch Pogba, you want him to do something brilliant every time and the same with Veron as well.
"You wanted him to score a 40-yard goal or [play a] 60-yard pass, it was just a little bit fast for him.
"He wanted to slow down the tempo a little bit. This is what I don’t understand, people always ask me, 'why did it not always happen?'
"You’ve got that ability, he worked hard, it’s consistency. His ability was off the scale, wasn’t it, it’s one thing I’ve wondered. By all accounts, he worked really, was a good lad, it just didn’t work out."
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Shearer echoed his co-presenter, adding: "I definitely agree with the Pogba comparison. [I] think everyone looked at Veron and thought, 'wow, what a player'.
"£28million which was a lot of money then and everyone was expecting that of him every week. Ability-wise it was in there."
Meanwhile, Pogba suffered a hamstring injury during the early stages of the international break last week and reports in France suggest he may not return until the New Year.
He was due to serve the final game of his three-match suspension as United travel to Watford on Saturday.
