Paul Pogba 'happy' to be back at Manchester United, says Jose Mourinho
Pogba's agent is understood to have agitated for his client to move to Barcelona
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Your support makes all the difference.Paul Pogba is happy to be back at Manchester United, his manager Jose Mourinho said, despite speculation that the midfielder is unsettled at Old Trafford.
The France international returned to training with United on Monday as a World Cup winner following his exploits in Russia this summer.
However, reports earlier this week suggested that Pogba’s agent, Mino Raiola, was attempting to engineer a move to Barcelona for his client.
Pogba’s relationship with Mourinho has been strained and it is understood that the midfielder felt unappreciated by his manager’s public assessments of his World Cup displays.
United have no intention of selling Pogba, however, and Mourinho insisted on Thursday that Pogba had returned from his close-season break with no signs of discontent.
“My perception, he arrived Monday, happy, proud, a desire to work,” the United manager said ahead of Friday’s opening game of the season against Leicester City.
“He worked amazingly well Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. He’s one of the players that I have to speak to, to see how physically and mentally he feels.
“But it’s the same conversation as with [Ashley] Young, [Marouane] Fellaini, [Jesse] Lingard, it’s the same,” he added, referring to other players who have only just returned after post-World Cup holidays.
Mourinho is unlikely to call upon Pogba and the other late returnees against Leicester but, as his squad is depleted through injury, he will speak with that group of players to judge whether they are fit enough to play.
“If they feel they can help us [against Leicester] – 20 minutes, 10 minutes, half an hour. We don’t have many solutions and want to go with everything we have,” he said.
“I see [Pogba] very well but we need words with that small group to see if they can give us a hand. Important match tomorrow and every point is important. We have to try and get the best out of every player.”
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