Ralf Rangnick has told Manchester United fans that he will not try to convince Paul Pogba to stay at Old Trafford if the midfielder wants to leave the club next summer.
The France international’s situation at Old Trafford has been a constant talking point over the last few months due to the fact that the clock continues to tick down on his current deal at the club.
Pogba’s current deal at Old Trafford is due to expire at the end of this season and that means that he is free to discuss a possible move away from Old Trafford with foreign clubs from January.
The 28-year-old, who is currently sidelined with an injury picked up while on international duty with France, has been limited to seven Premier League starts for the Red Devils so far this term.
It remains to be seen what the future holds for Pogba – who is currently training in Dubai – beyond the summer, but Red Devils interim boss Rangnick believes that he should not have to work to convince a player to want to stay at a club of Manchester United’s stature.
Speaking before Manchester United’s trip to Norwich City on Saturday, Rangnick said: “I wouldn’t say he’s not worth keeping but, of course, players have to want to play and stay for a club and a big club like Manchester United.
“If a player does not want to play for a club like Manchester United medium or long-term, I don’t think it makes sense to convince him to change his mind.
“This is such a massive club with such fantastic support from the supporters, I don’t think anyone in the club should try to convince a player to stay. But on the other hand, let’s wait and see.
“I have spoken with him for 15 minutes over the phone a few days ago. Let’s have him come back, get fully fit, train with the team and then see where we stand, how the team has developed by then.
“He can be an important player but this is true for all the other players that we have and I’m not just the coach of Paul Pogba, I’m also the coach of all the other players and my ambition is to make them better, improve each individual player, and this is only possible by improving the performance of the whole team.
“In football it’s impossible to develop players individually without the team being successful and without the team being sustainable.”
Meanwhile, with January now approaching, attentions will inevitably begin to turn to Manchester United’s potential plans for the forthcoming January transfer window.
However, Red Devils boss Rangnick says that he has not had enough time with his current crop of players before considering any potential moves in the market next month.
“I’ve got to know them better obviously in this week, I saw most of them play in two games,” Rangnick said on Friday.
“We’ve three or four or five training sessions but it’s still too early to speak about what we might do in the transfer window.”