Much to the surprise of everyone, it seems Manchester United really are about to sign that Paul Pogba bloke from Juventus.
Although there’s barely been a whisper of a return to Old Trafford for the 23-year-old all summer-long, Jose Mourinho’s comments in his Friday press conference appeared to suggest a deal to bring Pogba to the club would be completed by next week.
Specifically asked about a move for Pogba – who left United for Juventus four years ago – Mourinho began his response by making it clear that he doesn’t like speaking about players belonging to other clubs.
“You are right, I don’t like to speak about other clubs and players from other clubs. Other managers like to do that. They like to speak about my clubs and my players….”
Who could he possibly be referring to there?
“I’m very pragmatic on this. The only thing that matters to me is what happens in my house, not the house of my neighbours. Pogba is a Juventus player until officially he isn’t – so, we stay like this. But honestly, the market closes on August 31st, but I think my club is trying to do everything to close the market before August 14th.
So, next week we will have our squad closed.”
Mourinho, who takes his new club to Wembley on Sunday for the Community Shield, also appeared to confirm that Bastian Schweinsteiger’s time at United was all but up.
Directly asked about the German, who only joined United a year ago, Mourinho played down his decision to make him train away from the first team, claiming it was all part and parcel of
“What’s happening is happening in every club in the world. The manager decides his squad and chooses a certain number of players to face the season, and that’s it. I normally like to work with 20 players, plus the three goalkeepers, which is what I do for 15 years.
We have so many players, but at the same time we have so many competitions, particularly the Europa League competition, it’s a competition that changes the profile of the season because you can play 15 matches. You play on the Thursday and you have a big risk from travelling a lot. Normally you are going to play the Premier League on the Sundays. So I made the decision to play with 23 players, plus three goalkeepers, which I think is still a lot. I had to make my decisions. It’s simple.”
If this is anything to go by, it’s one in and one out at Old Trafford.
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