Manuel Pellegrini insists that Paul Pogba has a long way to go before he can match the ability of Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure.

Juventus star Pogba was heavily linked with a move to the likes of City, Barcelona and Real Madrid in the summer, but no move materialised, with the Serie A champions rejecting and €80 million offer for him from the Spanish champions.

Pellegrini, though, insists that Pogba still has to work to emulate the achievements of his current midfield powerhouse, with Toure impressing so far this season.

“I don’t think it’s fair to compare a young player who is just starting with Yaya Toure who has had a brilliant career. Pogba must arrive to do what Yaya has done in his career,” he told reporters.

“Pogba is a very young player and when you’re young you have the chance to continue improving. That’s why it can be important to buy young players because they have more chances to improve.”

He added: “We are seeing the same Yaya as we saw in my first season when we won the Premier League.”

Pogba may come up against City when Juventus travel to the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday, and Pellegrini admits that his side face a tough task against the Italian champions.

“It’s a difficult group because we play against teams from the most important leagues of Europe,” Pellegrini said.

“Juventus have lost some very important players like Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal and Carlos Tevez but they still have others who are very good and signed big players.”