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Pogba comes full circle
- Updated: September 30, 2016
Paul Pogba is set to face Stoke this Sunday, four-and-a-half years after making his Premier League debut for Manchester United against the Potters as a teenager…
When it comes to Premier League opponents, Stoke are as familiar as it gets for Paul Pogba so far. It was against the Potters that Pogba made his league debut for Manchester United as an 18-year-old in 2012, replacing Javier Hernandez as a 72nd-minute substitute.
Sir Alex Ferguson said afterwards that Pogba was a “great talent with tremendous physique”, but just a few months later he left Old Trafford to join Juventus.
Ahead of Man Utd v Stoke on Sunday, we look at what happened on Pogba’s debut, who he played alongside and what happened next…
The situation
Having progressed through the United academy, it was in the 2011/12 season that Pogba was promoted to the senior team for the first time, making his debut in a League Cup match in September against Leeds.
He would play twice more in the competition before his league debut against Stoke.
United were, on the day, beset by injuries. They were without 11 players, including Wayne Rooney, and third-choice keeper Ben Amos made his Premier League debut.
But they were very much in the title race, three points behind Manchester City with 22 games played. They would draw level by the end of night as City were beaten by Everton and penalties from Hernandez and Dimitar Berbatov gave United a 2-0 victory over Stoke.
It was Hernandez who Pogba replaced in the 72rd …
