Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had no doubt Paul Pogba would exert his influence in Manchester United's 4-0 dismantling of Chelsea in their Premier League opener.
Pogba is set to stay at United despite his desire to leave over the summer, but followed up an impressive pre-season with an imperious performance in United's resounding victory over Frank Lampard's side.
The France international provided a superb pass for Marcus Rashford to make it 3-0 in the 67th minute and embarked on a lung-busting late run to play in Daniel James for a debut goal. Pogba was the last United player to leave the pitch and was treated to a standing ovation from the Stretford End.
The 26-year-old's absence from United's travelling squad to Cardiff for their friendly with AC Milan last week caused some uncertainty about his situation, but Solskjaer is adamant Pogba would never have let his situation affect him on the pitch.
"Paul can do many, many many jobs," Solskjaer explained. "He can do the attacking midfield job and today he's more of a link player. And when you've got Lindelof, Magurie and David at the back, they can feed Paul the ball, so he'll get the ball in good positions.
"Paul can do everything a midfielder can. Today he was asked to play that sitting role and, first-half, I thought Chelsea pegged us too much back, so he had to do loads of running with Barkley down the channels, I thought they created a few problems for us then.
"But we're fit and he's fit. That third pass is a fantastic pass for the third goal and the run for the fourth... I just wanted him to go all the way and open up your legs son!
"I've always said he's a top top lad and he's such a professional and loves playing football. When he gets onto that pitch, if it's training sessions or behind closed doors, or at Old Trafford, he grows more here.
"He's a World Cup winner, he's come so far in his career and there's no point letting yourself down when you're on that pitch, he just wants to play and is confident, wants the ball all the time.
"He lost it a couple of time but doesn't matter, get on the ball and play."
