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The World Cup, the showpiece event that all football fans so eagerly wait for has delivered again and given us all further reason why this month-long tournament is seen as perhaps the most prestigious event in all of football.
In terms of club football links, the Premier League leads the pack with Tottenham having the most players represented in the last 4 of the World Cup at 9, with Manchester United a close 2nd with 7 players still representing them in Russia.
Last season, United finished 2nd in the Premier League, and though finishing 2nd behind a City side of that calibre is not bad by any stretch of the imagination, Jose Mourinho and Manchester United evidently had a few issues last season. Over the course of the World Cup, however, some of those pressing issues seem to have been solved.
With some of United's key players hitting a purple patch through the course of the World Cup, Jose Mourinho will be hoping that they can do the same for his side once the new season begins in August.
#1 Paul Pogba's creativity
Kicking off this list is Manchester United's marquee Frenchman. After a frankly underwhelming season where he was again unable to reach his own sky-high standards, Paul Pogba will be hoping to return to the next season of the Premier League in his best form. The way things are going so far, it looks like that's just what he is going to do.
He hasn't scored or assisted a goal so far, but you would be foolish to judge his game merely by his numerical stats, for if you watch any of France's games so far, you can see Pogba chipping in everywhere, and most importantly, doing just as much as he needs to.
Rewind to calls for him to be dropped from the France squad after poor performances in France's pre-World Cup friendlies. Fast forward and look at him now. France have marched on to the World Cup final, and Pogba has been one of the best performers for Didier Deschamps' side. He has combined with other star names such as Kante, Mbappe and Griezmann with terrifying effect to lead the Blues to the final in Moscow.
One thing drastically different that Pogba has in the France setup is a system suited more towards his strengths, with either Blaise Matuide, Corentin Tolisso or N'Golo Kante providing extra defensive cover, allowing the towering Frenchman to do what he does best, attack and create. If Mourinho is able to replicate a similar system for him in the Premier League, expect Pogba to gain the consistency he has so often fallen short of during his time at United so far.
#2 Romelu Lukaku's form and leadership skills
After joining the Red Devils from Everton at the end of the last season, Romelu Lukaku had a good first season at Old Trafford. For Belgium too, the big No.9 has seemingly taken his game to the next level, leading Belgium to secure their place as one of the top 4 sides in the World Cup.
Scoring 4 goals so far, and putting in brilliant performances, Lukaku has been a bundle of pace and power at the top of the pitch, with his physicality and technical prowess proving too much to cope with for many-a-team at the World Cup. The Belgian's excellent individual work which led to Belgium's 2nd goal against Brazil stands as another piece of evidence for the same.
While Jose Mourinho will no doubt be pleased with his performances, there is another factor which Lukaku has showcased that he is improved at, his leadership quality. With the outgoing Michael Carrick, Mourinho faces the dilemma of selecting a new club captain, and looking at Lukaku giving rousing team talks and showcasing maturity way beyond his years, Mourinho could do a lot worse than handing it to Lukaku.
#3 Emergence of Ashley Young as a set-piece taker
Consistent set pieces have become a problem for the Red Devils over the course of the past few seasons. Flashback to the times of Cristiano Ronaldo and David Beckham, when there was no question about who would be taking a corner or free-kick.
Marcus Rashford, Daley Blind, Juan Mata, Antonio Valencia - the list goes on for the corner takers from last-season. Disappointingly, however, on more occasions than it should, the ball delivery has failed to beat the first man.
However, so far in the World Cup, Ashley Young has shown that he could be the man for the job. He has put in tons of good deliveries so far through the course of the World Cup, and provided the ideal service for his teammates in the box, even getting an assist after putting in an inch-perfect cross for Harry Maguire's opener against Sweden.
