"I want to win titles, I want to play for something. Whether it be this year or even the previous ones, we haven't won anything. That's what's sad, in the end."
Albeit they weren't the most prestigious, Paul Pogba won two trophies (not including the Community Shield) in his first season back at Manchester United. Things looked so positive. But now, Pogba is coming to the climax of his sixth season since rejoining the club and, frankly, it's almost certainly going to be his last.
When all is said and done, you may ask the question: how many trophies has Pogba won since rejoining the club in 2016?
Two. Still two.
United are now five years trophyless, and that unmerited run will only be prolonged through to the next calendar year (at least) given that there is, in effect, as Pogba has insinuated, nothing really to play for as the current campaign draws towards its finish. A top four spot is still in the offing and a battle is still ongoing, but United even find themself on the back foot in that race.
This is Manchester United we're talking about, by the way. Why is the conversation about finishing fourth?
It has always been a club built on winning, yet there has been staggering regression since the days of United 'being infected by winning' - as Sir Alex Ferguson would say.
This season, United have stumbled against West Ham United at the first hurdle in the Carabao Cup and exited the FA Cup in shock fashion against Championship side Middlesbrough. Although it was progress from being demoted to Europa League last term after group stage collapse, it wouldn't be far-fetched to suggest that United's loss to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League round of 16 last time out was consequential to a quite calamitous performance at Old Trafford.
There was exponential hope coming into the season, with the summer acquisitions of Raphael Varane, Jadon Sancho and Cristiano Ronaldo instilling belief that United could challenge for trophies. They were serious statement moves.
Still, however, to this day, the statement hasn't quite been issued. There were multiple bad days at the office through September, notably the aforementioned loss to West Ham and defeat to both Young Boys and Aston Villa. Whenever there were signs of encouragement they were brief at best, and it was a visit to the King Power Stadium in mid-October that significantly seemed to derail United's aspirations.
Defeat to Leicester City that day - by a scoreline of 4-2 - largely spearheaded an unrecoverable downward spiral that is still marring United. The defeat commenced a majorly torrid spell that ultimately saw Ole Gunnar Solskjaer lose his job. It became clear that United, despite their statement-piece of a transfer window, still lacked the material to challenge for the Premier League title (as many had tipped them to).
Marcus Rashford was on the scoresheet against this Saturday's opponents back in October, marking his return from injury in supreme fashion after coming off the bench. A goal from Rashford on his return was an encapsulation of the omnipresent hope surrounding United at the time. But, with Rashford struggling to find any consistent form at present, the strike is looked back on as a mere marker of the extent to which things really haven't gone to plan.
With only nine matches to play, United trail both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur in the bid for the final Champions League slot in the Premier League. United are yet to face the former of the sides for a second time this season, though trail by four points having played one game more.
It's telling of the season, and largely the last nine years, that United find themselves a step behind the competition.
An antonym to United's overwhelming regression has been Leicester's rise to status as protagonists amongst the elite. It's testament to their lucrative ascendency that a season of loitering in and around the lower end of the top half of the Premier League table is considered a disappointment.
Admittedly, exits in the Europa League at the group stage and FA Cup to Nottingham Forest haven't helped Leicester's cause this season. But it speaks volume of the soaring standards at the club that pressure has been put on the position of Brendan Rodgers, who won Leicester the FA Cup and led them to finish fifth in the Premier League last term (narrowly missing out on a Champions League spot for the second successive season).
It can surely also be considered a success in its own right that fighting for European football has become a primary objective for a club that were in League One only 13 years ago and the Championship for the five years in subsequence.
Although they are one of only a handful of middling Premier League teams neither relegation-riddled or contenders for Europe this season, Leicester may still gain qualification for the Europa League if they are to win the inaugural Europa Conference League (in which they have reached the quarter-finals having dropped out of the Europa League).
Rodgers and his side will have to achieve the feat of Conference League without Wilfred Ndidi, who is set to miss the rest of the season through a knee injury. Jamie Vardy is another notable absentee at the moment. There have been defensive woes throughout the season for Leicester, but they have been bolstered by the return of Jonny Evans and Wesley Fofana.
The Foxes faithful will also be encouraged by the fact that they have won three of their last four Premier League matches - the same total as in the 14 matches prior. Only the single win over their last six matches in the league compounds their subpar away record this campaign, with just 12 points the third lowest total in the division.
United's form, however, will offer an invigoration of belief for Leicester amidst their woes on the road. Ralf Rangnick's side are presently on a run of only three wins in 10 matches.
Edinson Cavani is set to be United's only absentee due to calf problems. "According to the doctor, he will be out for a couple of weeks, four weeks, maybe even five weeks," Rangnick confirmed. "So we have to wait and see. That’s obviously bad news to have another striker missing out. Apart from that, all the others seem to be fit."
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