What's the news?
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes Paul Pogba will win over angry fans as time wears on, despite publicly expressing his desire to seek a new challenge next season.
In case you didn't know...
The Red Devils broke the transfer record to re-sign Paul Pogba from Juventus for a reported fee of £89 million in 2016. During his second stint at Old Trafford, the Frenchman has achieved two trophies in League Cup and Europa League.
In terms of personal statistics, the 2018/19 season was arguably the best campaign for Pogba, as he stacked up 15 goals and nine assists across all competitions.
During the tour of Asia with Adidas, Pogba was asked about his United future. He responded by saying:
"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.”
Since Paul Pogba's comments, the likes of Juventus and Real Madrid have circled around the French midfielder for his services. However, United have remained steadfast in their stance so far.
The heart of the matter
As reported earlier, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was confident that Pogba could be persuaded to stay at Old Trafford for at least another season. Since the beginning of United's pre-season campaign, the midfield maestro has featured consistently in a United shirt.
Addressing the speculation, Solskjaer believes that only a chunk of fans would be angry with Pogba's comments on his future, and that the 26-year-old could win over the Old Trafford supporters with his world-class performances on the pitch.
The United manager commented:
“No, I think our fans know what Paul has given the club and what he can give us. Of course there are some loud, some small minority, but no Paul has been an absolutely top individual and me and the players would testify to that."
“He's never been a problem for a second here and we're just grateful he performs as well as he does.“
What's next?
With Ed Woodward skipping the second leg of United's pre-season tour to complete summer transfers, the Red Devils take on Tottenham Hotspur in a friendly clash on July 25.