Manchester United expect midfielder Paul Pogba to be at the club next season despite the Frenchman wanting to leave, according to reports in England.
The 26-year-old revealed at the weekend that he is considering leaving Old Trafford this summer in order to seek a new challenge:
“There is a lot of thinking [going on]. I have been three years in Manchester and have been doing great – some good moments and some bad moments, like everybody, like everywhere else.”
“After this season and everything that happened, with my season being my best season … it could be a good time to have a new challenge somewhere else.”
United seem to be unwilling to sell at this stage, though, which has led many fans on Twitter to question the club’s stance:
joke of a club, let him go ffs!!
— Yona Mz (@YonaMzigu) 16 June 2019
Fergie wouldn’t stand for this.
— Alex Smith (@CobdenSmith) 16 June 2019
No one has made a concrete offer for Pogba so why would we think otherwise
— Ray Vincent (@RedVin8) 17 June 2019
Omg just let him go already. 27 years following United , we have had better , we will have better , hes blip on d radar . Any player that can down tools on the drop of a hat like him isnt the kinda player we want at united. Get him out .
— Darren Holohan (@DarrenHolohan) 17 June 2019
What’s the point of keeping him here if he doesn’t want to be here
— AinsleyHarriott? (@heathster696969) 16 June 2019
Forcing a player to stay who wants to leave is really going to work isn’t it, just shows how badly our club is being run tbh
— damien houlihan (@damien_houlihan) 17 June 2019
Money talks, if the right offer comes in United will accept.
— I say it as it is (@Mr_TRaw) 17 June 2019
GET RID! Doesn’t matter how good he is if he only turns up when he wants too! Probably 5 decent performances since he came back to us.Replace him with Tielemans fraction of the price and doesn’t come with the Pogba baggage!
— WozzaH (@WarrenHunter10) 17 June 2019
Too much player power these days. Needs to end. Sign a contract and honor it, be a professional ffs
— St3ve_Oh (@StevenAnthony9) 16 June 2019
Let him leave if he wishes. I love Pogba very much but this club #MUFC comes first and it’s bigger than any other person. Why keep a player who is not willing to play for u? The are a lot of players who can fill that position if Pogba leaves. Don’t let him to be like an idol.
— Lawrence Odame (@LawrenceOdame2) 16 June 2019
It could well be that the Manchester club have established a negotiating position to ensure Pogba isn’t sold on the cheap.
Real Madrid, in particular, may be looking to lower the playmaker’s asking price following the expensive purchases of Eden Hazard, Luka Jovic and Ferland Mendy.
Their manager Zinedine Zidane has not hidden his admiration for the midfielder, and would probably like to see the player move to the Bernabeu.
Juventus are likely to be another interested club but the Italian side would also want to lower the price tag.