SPECIAL ONE?
WHAT MUST JOSE DO TO MAKE POGBA HIS...
PAUL POGBA wants more support from Jose Mourinho to help him through the most difficult spell of his Manchester United career.
The club’s record £89million signing has fallen out of favour in recent weeks and was left on the bench when Mourinho selected Scott McTominay for the goalless draw with Sevilla in Spain on Wednesday night.
It’s understood that the 24-year-old Frenchman believes he has been harshly treated by Mourinho and wants to feel valued again.
Pogba’s camp have even begun sounding out Europe’s top clubs to see if there could be a buyer for the unhappy star this summer.
United would strenuously oppose any attempt by Pogba to JOSE ON McTOMINAY leave Old Trafford just 19 months after he returned to the club from Juventus for a then world-record fee.
They do not want a repeat of the situation with Angel di Maria who lasted just one season after signing from Real Madrid in a British record £59.7m deal before joining Paris Saint-Germain.
However, it’s a sign of Pogba’s frustration that his agent Mino Raiola has taken the first steps towards assessing other options.
Pogba has already demonstrated a readiness to walk away from United after quitting to join Juventus in 2012.
But even if United were prepared to countenance selling a player who still has more than three years left on his contract, Raiola would have to find a club willing to pay a big transfer fee as well as his £200,000-a-week wages.
Real Madrid were linked with Pogba when he returned to United from Italy in the summer of 2016 and are one of only several clubs capable of affording him. However, they are understood to have prioritised signing Chelsea duo Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois this summer, with David de Gea set to stay at United.
Mourinho recently dismissed speculation over Pogba’s future as ‘lies and bull **** ’, and it’s understood there is no appetite among the Old Trafford hierarchy to sell.
Yet there is little doubt Mourinho’s decision to start McTominay, a talented but raw youngster, ahead of Pogba was aimed at bringing the Frenchman into line.
McTominay gave a disciplined performance in the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on Wednesday, if lacking in the kind of fireworks that Pogba can produce.
He put in a shift for his team and it’s this which Mourinho wants Pogba to take on board. The United manager is prepared to play him in the position he wants on the left-hand side of midfield, in a new 4-3-3 formation.
What he will not do is give the player a ‘free’ role.
Even David Beckham had to do the dirty work at United, Mourinho pointed out on Wednesday.
‘When the team have the ball you attack. When you don’t, you defend,’ he said. ‘The top teams in the world — everybody works and has tactical discipline.
‘The next time I see David Beckham, I’m going to ask him: “When you played right wing for United, when their left-back attacked, did you stay looking in the stands or track back?”.
‘Everybody knows I am not a big fan of Roy Keane or Paul Scholes, but I will ask them if they tracked back.’
McTominay could not be a more different character to Pogba. He is a reserved individual raised in the traditions of the club.
‘Maybe it’s because he’s this kind of profile,’ said Mourinho after McTominay played at Huddersfield on Saturday when Pogba was absent with an illness that has still not been explained.
‘A normal haircut, no tattoos, no big cars, no big watches, humble kid.’ The comparison with Pogba’s flamboyant hairstyles, Rolls-Royce, bling jewellery, dance moves and elaborate handshake routines was plain to see.
When the former Juventus man came off the bench in Seville, he was sporting a new red stripe in his hair. It was certainly more striking than his performance.
Pogba didn’t play badly but we expect so much more from a player of his calibre and there have not been nearly enough big performances from him in a United shirt.
The ostentatious image has not gone down well with everyone at United. Senior players are tiring of his antics and feel that he needs to focus more on his football.
In December, Sportsmail revealed that support staff were sent to Pogba’s house in Hale Barns to get him out of bed when he failed to report for training.
From Pogba’s point of view, he has been unsettled by the arrival of Alexis Sanchez as United’s new pin-up boy.
Chief Ed Woodward revealed earlier this month that the video posted to announce that signing smashed records on the club’s Facebook and Instagram accounts.
This might not matter to most players, but it has irked Pogba, who is very active on social media and proud of his stats.
The events that have followed suggest his ego has been bruised.
Now, though, Pogba needs to knuckle down and Mourinho needs to bring him back into the fold. A premature parting of the ways suits no one.
‘A normal haircut, no tattoos, no big cars, no big watches, humble kid.’ — WHO WAS MOURINHO COMPARING HIM TO?