BBC Sport pundit Garth Crooks appeared to criticise Paul Pogba’s mannerism following Manchester United’s 4-1 Premier League win over Newcastle United last weekend. The France international marked his comeback from a hamstring injury with a goal and assist which earned him his third straight man of the match award in successive Premier League home matches.

Despite this, Crooks insisted that the 24-year-old must sort out his image by putting in strong performances against the big boys, he said: “I have no time for his hairstyles and even less time for the dancing exhibitions. They are for beauty parlours and catwalks. What I do enjoy, though, is a footballer who can produce moments of magic with a football at his feet.

“Newcastle simply do not have the resources to compete with Manchester United. But you can only beat what is in front of you and Pogba tormented Newcastle throughout. I would like to see the Frenchman have this sort of performance against the top teams, but there is no doubt that, given time and room, Pogba can destroy the opposition.”

In the absence of Pogba, United endured one of their worst runs under Jose Mourinho, which saw them fall eight points adrift of league leaders Manchester City. Nevertheless, there is some sense of optimism around the club with key players including Marcos Rojo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic returning after long-term injuries.

United face a midweek Champions League game against FC Basel on Wednesday night, and Pogba is likely to be offered a runout in order to step up his fitness ahead of next month’s key fixtures against Arsenal and Manchester City.

Jose Mourinho’s men are currently on 12 points in their European group, and they require just a solitary point in the last two matches in order to qualify with the top spot. Following their midweek outing, Manchester United play host to Brighton & Hove Albion at Old Trafford on Saturday.