Manchester United have told Ole Gunnar Solskjaer they will not be held to ransom by Paul Pogba over his future at the club, with the player demanding more than £400,000-a-week to extend his stay.
Pogba’s current contract will expire in 2022 and United have been in talks with the midfielder to reach to a resolution which would prevent him from leaving on a free in one year’s time.
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He has shone this campaign, majorly in the second half of this season, and Solskjaer wants to tie him down on a new long-term contract.
According to The Mirror, the club’s hierarchy do not appreciate having ‘a gun held to their head’ by Pogba and have warned Solskjaer they refuse to bow to his team’s demands.
The report claims those in power at Old Trafford are fearful of the influence of Pogba’s agent, Mino Raiola, who Sir Alex Ferguson once described as a ‘s***bag’.
Pogba has scored 38 goals in 197 matches since returning to the club from Juventus in a then world-record £89.3m transfer back in 2016.
The Frenchman is yet to win any silverware since Solskjaer took charge and will be desperate to claim a second Europa League title after lifting the trophy under Mourinho three years ago.
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Pogba has been a divisive figure among the club’s fanbase and former players across his second spell and Ferguson’s ex-assistant, Rene Meulensteen, believes it may be time United cut their losses and cash in on him.
‘Solskjaer likes to play with two pivots in Fred and [Scott] McTominay,’ he told Stadium Astro.
‘The reason for that is to protect the back four but I think you need another midfield player in there that is more creative that can do a bit of both like Fernandinho at Manchester City, or Fabinho with Liverpool.
‘Pogba creates an imbalance in the team because he has to play, he can’t play as one of the two pivots. Defensively, people run off him so he doesn’t do his defensive job.
‘You play him from the left, okay you try to manufacture something there. I’m not sure.
‘Maybe the best way is to say can we get some money from him and look at what we need.’
