Man Utd have reportedly been left far from impressed with Barcelona’s attempts at prising Paul Pogba away from Old Trafford.
Despite struggling for consistency last season, the French international undoubtedly remains a fundamental part of Jose Mourinho’s plans given his importance in the United midfield.
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Having added the title of World Cup winner to his CV this summer, Pogba has now returned to Manchester where he will be expected to play a key role in the club’s push to win major honours this season with the pressure ramping up on Mourinho after a trophy-less campaign last time round.
However, their preparations have seemingly been complicated by reports that Barcelona have made a move to try and sign Pogba this summer, and The Sun claim that it hasn’t gone down well at Old Trafford with suggestions that it could unsettle the 25-year-old.
With the transfer deadline for English clubs fast approaching on Thursday evening, Man Utd essentially now have no time to identify and sign a world-class replacement for the Frenchman, if they opted to agree on a deal to see him leave.
In turn, they can’t afford to negotiate an exit and will hope that Pogba doesn’t push for a move to the Nou Camp as the window remains open in Spain until later this month. With that in mind, it could yet put significant pressure on United to stay resolute and fend off the Catalan giants if they come calling.
It’s within Barcelona’s rights to make an approach for a player when they want, and so it’s difficult to understand United’s reported issue with that. Nevertheless, it’s easy to understand why they would be irked over the La Liga champions being interested in Pogba at all as Mourinho will be fully aware of the need to keep hold of his best players moving forward.