Solskjaer has ´no problem at all´ with Pogba meeting Zidane

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insists he has no concerns over Paul Pogba’s commitment after the Manchester United midfielder was pictured with Real Madrid head coach Zinedine Zidane.

Pogba, who has been in Dubai as part of his recovery from an ankle problem, was photographed meeting Zidane during his trip to the region for the Dubai Artificial Intelligence in Sport (DAIS) Conference and Exhibition.

The picture has further fuelled rumours about Zidane’s possible interest in signing the player in January, with Pogba having been unable to secure an exit from Old Trafford in the previous transfer window.

However, United manager Solskjaer has no problem with meeting and has full confidence that Pogba wants to stay at the club.

“I’ve never heard Paul say he doesn’t want to be here,” he told a news conference.

“Paul is part of our plan going forward and Paul knows that. I’ve spoken to Paul many times. He’s been playing through pain barriers. He’s been criticised right, left and centre, but he came back, [against] Rochdale, Arsenal, he could easily have opted not to play them, but he wanted to play them.

 

 

 

 

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They say hard work pay off what about hard work in the heat ? Let’s see loving the view though ..Allah always in control #37degres#enjoywork#blessed

A post shared by Paul Labile Pogba (@paulpogba) on Oct 7, 2019 at 2:57am PDT

“He wanted to try to get back, it was too painful, so we had that scan and now he’s on the way back, he’s mending, he’s recovering, he’s been on a few days off working and there’s a picture. That’s the way it is with Man United. I don’t have any problem with that at all.”

Solskjaer, who allowed Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez to leave for Inter without replacements being brought in, has previously said he would not keep a player at United against his will while he attempts to create a more desirable mentality within the squad.

United have struggled for goals this season, though, with injuries to Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford further depleting their forward line, and they head into Sunday’s match against Liverpool with just two wins and nine goals scored from eight Premier League games.

Solskjaer, though, is not concerned that the short-term drawbacks of his rebuilding work could mean he is not given enough time to reap the possible rewards of his long-term vision.

“The time is always right to make the right decision,” he said. “It was the right time to make those decisions and go on with the squad that we have. The injuries didn’t help, we’re getting players back now and I’m sure between now and Christmas if you see a full-strength squad then we’ll get the results.

“The last few weeks have been difficult, they have been, but it’s not like two or three weeks will tell me they were the wrong decisions. They were the right decisions. Listen, [for] the culture that we want to build, I had to make those decisions. That’s it.

“When you lose the majority of your front creativity that we started with, you’re going to struggle to create as many chances as you’d like. The Newcastle [United] game, we had 75 per cent possession but you can’t create that opening…

“The pressing up high has been very good, the attitude, desire has been very good, but as you say, not enough chances created, chances haven’t been taken. Sometimes that’s confidence, that’s human nature, you see players missing chances that they normally would not miss. But it’s up to us to keep working and get the ball in between the posts. That goal never moves. It’s the easiest bit because you know where it is.”