Paul Pogba should captain Manchester United – not Ashley Young

Reports suggest that Ashley Young is set to wear the captain’s armband for Manchester United next season instead of Paul Pogba. Here’s why this would be a terrible decision.

Ashley Young will be made Manchester United captain from the beginning of next season following the departure of Antonio Valencia, according to reports.

The 33-year-old already wore the captain’s armband for much of the 2018-19 season, since Valencia barely featured for the Red Devils during the campaign.

The news has angered many United fans, who expected the converted full-back to be dropped from the starting XI next season to make way for a new right-back.

And they have a point – Young was one of our worst performers last season. He lacked the defensive awareness of a natural full-back and his delivery in the final third was poor.

Signing a replacement should have been Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s number one priority in the summer transfer window, but news of Young maintaining his captaincy suggests that this may not be the case.

Worst still, many fans wanted Paul Pogba to take over captain duties from Young at the start of the 2019-20 season. Although the midfielder still has his critics, it’s hard to argue against the 13 goals and nine assists he got in the Premier League last season, easily making him one of our best players.

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Pogba has already captained United on a number of occasions and was even made vice-captain under Jose Mourinho – although the then-manager later stripped him of his duties after a falling out between the two.

Nevertheless, with Mourinho gone and Solskjaer now at the helm, the club should move on from this petty dispute and go ahead and give Pogba the full captaincy. The 26-year-old will easily make more appearances than any other outfield player next season, and the captain’s armband could motivate him to be more consistent on the pitch.

Furthermore, since he is an academy graduate, Pogba’s captaincy would send a good message to our youth team players, showing them how hard work and determination can also lead them to first-team success at the club.

So, even if you’re not the biggest fan of Pogba, you’ve got to admit that he’d be a way better captain than Young. Let’s hope that those reports are wrong…