Rio Ferdinand says Paul Pogba’s performance against West Ham needs to be reproduced on a regular basis. The midfielder scored a superb goal to draw United level against West Ham before eventually helping them to a 3-1 victory in a fine display.

After a long period out of the team due to poor form and injuries, Pogba’s performance in a deeper midfield role was praised by pundits as being something closer to the 27-year-old’s best.

Speaking to his Five YouTube channel, former United defender Ferdinand said the Frenchman must reproduce that sort of performance on a consistent basis, comparing it to how he played during his four seasons at Juventus.

Ferdinand did not reference Mino Raiola’s comments about Pogba’s time at United being ‘over’ but said the Reds need to free Pogba – suggesting he was talking more about the sort of role the midfielder has in the team.

“I’ve got to give special mention to Pogba,” he said. “Free Pogba, please. The guy comes in, produces a very good performance and looked like something we were accustomed to seeing when he was in a Juve shirt or when he plays for France. “We’ve seen it sporadically over his career at Manchester United. That’s what you want to see consistently. That’s what I want to see week in, week out from Pogba.”

The win over West Ham was Pogba’s first start for the Reds since a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal on November 1 – a nightmare performance that saw him concede a penalty for a soft tackle. Since then, he was limited to substitute appearances for United prior to Saturday’s victory.