Cardiff City boss Neil Warnock says he's confident that Leandro Bacuna can step up to fill in the void left by Aron Gunnarsson at the end of the season.
Gunnarsson is set to leave on a free transfer this summer, having signed a deal with Qatari side Al Arabi, and gave City a big reminder of what they'll be missing when he moves by putting in a superb performance in the 2-0 win over Brighton on Tuesday.
The Iceland captain was withdrawn as a precaution just after half-time on the south coast, and Warnock has hinted that his replacement that evening could prove to be the man to fill the tough-tackling midfielder's shoes long-term.
"Even Bacuna when he came on. I said to Gunnarsson after the game ‘Wow. Why didn’t you go off earlier?’
"Bacuna was like Pogba when he came on, and I thought thank goodness you’re leaving at the end of the season and we’ve got him. We had a good laugh about that.
"Everybody wants to be involved. You wouldn’t think we were fighting relegation really."
Bacuna himself, appears to see the funny side of the comparison to one of the world's best players, but Warnock's affection for the midfielder seems genuine.
And the 27-year old, who joined on deadline day in January, says Warnock is working wonders by keeping spirits high in the Cardiff dressing room.
He said: "Yeah we were having a joke about that after the game. He said that when I came on I looked like Pogba. Everyone was laughing. He’s a manager that likes to keep everyone smiling. It’s important to keep everyone smiling at the moment and to keep a happy atmosphere in the team.
"I’ll definitely take it though. I think my hair looks a bit weird like him too! "
However, the 27-year old is under no illusions that his side face a near impossible task in stopping title-chasing Liverpool on Sunday, and believes the fans will have a big part to play in any success.
"I think they’ve done very well," he added.
"Looking at the squad they’ve got, it doesn't look very big, with everyone talking about the front 3, but their defence is also very strong.
"We’ve got to stop them from scoring. Their front three is one of the best out there.
"It’s going to be tough defending, but we’re not afraid of anyone."
