Pep Guardiola will no doubt have been relieved to hear Paul Pogba is out of Thursday night’s Manchester derby through injury.

Although the world’s most expensive footballer has flattered to deceive on many occasions this season, Guardiola is acutely aware of the talent Manchester United’s No. 6 possesses.

The settling-in period on his return to Old Trafford last summer is taking longer than expected, but there have been more than enough glimpses to suggest Pogba will prove a terrific signing for the Red Devils in the long run.

Guardiola has described Pogba’s first season back as “good” and admits the 24-year-old is an “outstanding player”.

"Of course sometimes it’s not easy to handle the expectations you have when you arrive here,” the Manchester City boss was quoted as saying by Goal, “especially with the amount of money. It wasn't easy.”

Pep: Pogba did something amazing when we first met

While talking about Pogba ahead of Thursday night’s heavyweight clash at the Etihad Stadium, Guardiola also revealed that United’s record signing did something quite remarkable on the first occasion they went head-to-head as manager and player back in February 2016.

It was Bayern that advanced to the quarter-finals thanks to a 6-4 aggregate win - both legs were hugely entertaining encounters - but Pogba left a big impression on Guardiola after playing, in his view of the two games, in 10 different positions.

"I met Paul Pogba for the first time when Bayern Munich played Juventus," the Catalan coach added.

"In both games I was really impressed. He played in 10 positions. He is an outstanding player and he can do absolutely everything.”

Pogba had a lot of freedom at Juve

This outlines just how much freedom Pogba, who scored in the second leg at the Allianz Arena, had at Juve under Massimiliano Allegri.

With the defensive-minded Sami Khedira alongside him, Pogba was allowed to roam around the pitch while still carrying out his defensive duties.

Without an out-and-out holding midfielder alongside him at United, Pogba has been exposed on occasions since rejoining the Red Devils.

Carragher and Lampard on the Pogba conundrum

Just last month, Jamie Carragher and Frank Lampard produced a detailed analysis on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football into why Jose Mourinho was struggling to get the best out of the player.

Carragher even described Pogba as a “£90m problem.”

But you can bet Mourinho wished he had that problem available on his visit to the Etihad tonight.