Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has responded to Paul Pogba’s latest flirtation with Real Madrid by claiming he is confident the France international will remain a Manchester United player for at least another two years.
Pogba’s roller coaster United career appeared to be on an upward curve towards the ends of last season when he returned from a lengthy injury-enforced spell on the sidelines to form a highly effective midfield partnership with January recruit Bruno Fernandes.
Reports of a potential new contract emerged over the summer, but negotiations are yet to commence and, following a poor start to the new campaign, Pogba attracted significant criticism after he spoke openly about his desire to move to the Spanish capital at some point in his career.
Asked about a move to Madrid and Zidane’s interest in him, Pogba told RMC while on international duty last week: ‘Zidane? We all heard it, things were said.
‘My reply? Yes, every football player would like to play at Real Madrid. It may be a dream. It’s a dream for me, why not one day.’
Responding to Pogba’s latest flirtation, Solskjaer said: ‘Paul’s our player, He’s going to be here for another two years and I’m sure Paul is focused on doing his best for us and we want to see the best of Paul.
‘I’m sure in the next couple of years we’ll get the best out of him.’
Despite his indifferent form, Pogba is likely to retain his place for Saturday’s Premier League clash at Newcastle with United looking to bounce back from their catastrophic 6-1 defeat against Tottenham a fortnight ago.
On what he wants to see from his side at St James’ Park, Solskjaer added: ‘We need a response as we always do after we lose a game you want to win the next one we want to try and dominate the game, the result is very important, but I want to see positive body language and mindset.
‘You don’t get anywhere being negative, so we’re going to go out there go for the win and see players who wanna work for the points.’
