LONDON • Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has played down rumours of Paul Pogba leaving for Real Madrid and reiterated that the France midfielder remains "a big, big part" of his plans.
Pogba, who last week described Real as a "dream" club while speaking to the media on international duty, was praised by the Spanish LaLiga team's coach Zinedine Zidane during the weekend.
Zidane said that he liked Pogba "a lot", further fuelling speculation that the 26-year-old may one day leave Manchester for Madrid.
Speaking at a pre-match conference ahead of today's Premier League trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers, Solskjaer said: "I don't like to talk about other teams' players (like Zidane did with Pogba) but this is another challenge with international breaks. Players are available all the time.
"It's a different environment, it's more of a general talk and Paul is a very nice and polite man who answered a general question.
"Zidane is an icon in France, Zidane is a fantastic manager, he used to be a fantastic player - I played against him myself - and Paul has just politely answered that question (about playing for Zidane).
"Paul's happy here and he's going to be a big, big part. I've always said that you'd like to build your team around him and that hasn't changed at all."
Following his appointment last week on a three-year deal, the Norwegian - who expects his assistant Mike Phelan to also be given a permanent deal soon - has admitted that there have been plans to bring in a director of football at Old Trafford.
"Football has changed and the structure at football clubs has changed. That's just the way football goes," he said.
"Me and Ed (Woodward, executive vice-chairman) and Joel (Glazer, co-chairman), we are looking at how can this club be ran as smoothly and as well as possible.
"We'll see what the club will end up with and I'm happy talking and discussing football with knowledgeable people in the right positions.
"I'm feeling older and older, 46 is a good number. I think the demands of football nowadays means you've got to split responsibilities."
Solskjaer, who was roped in as caretaker manager in December, won his first match as permanent boss with a scrappy 2-1 league victory over Watford last Saturday.
Today's clash with Wolves presents yet another difficult task in United's top-four bid, having lost to the same opponents in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
When asked if there were lessons learnt following that defeat last month, Solskjaer said: "Quite a few and of course we have to (learn).
"Last time we didn't play well enough... If we turn up and don't perform to our level against a good team, we will not get the result we deserve."
THE GUARDIAN, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
WOLVES V MAN UNITED
Singtel TV Ch102 & StarHub Ch227, tomorrow, 2.35am
SINGAPORE: Eight of the Singapore Premier League's (SPL) locally-based clubs will share four stadiums as part of a new initiative aimed at consolidating resources and improving match-day
Albirex's Yamazaki eyes unbeaten SPL season starting with
Kane gives Spurs edge over Chelsea in League Cup. Harry Kane fired Tottenham a step closer to the League Cup final as his penalty sealed a 1-0 win over Chelsea in the semi-final first leg on
Harry Kane's penalty gives Spurs the edge over Chelsea
Young boy taunts an angry 10ft snake before grabbing it with his bare hands and dragging it out of the road where it was causing a major traffic jam Fans incorrectly accuse Kylie Jenner of
Everton players have "100 per cent belief" Marco Silva will
Tampines Rovers FC will host Hougang United in an exciting AIA Singapore Premier League clash at the Tampines Stadium on Sunday. Tampines are fourth in the Singapore Premier League standings
Tampines Rovers - Results, Match Fixtures and Statistics in
LONDON: Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said Manchester United's home ground Old Trafford is no longer the fortress it used to be as City look to win all three points and take the lead in the
'It's not scary to go there' - Guardiola says Old Trafford no
Watford squeeze past QPR into FA Cup last eight Agencies February 17, 2019. Facebook Count Watford had possession in the first half but struggled to make any inroads against the solid home
Harry Kane wants to end career as NFL kicker. England captain Harry Kane has his heart set on ending his playing career in the United States kicking field goals for a team in the National
England captain Harry Kane eyes future as American football
Sport24.co.za | Klopp hails 'unstoppable' Messi after Barca star shines in CL semi Jurgen Klopp admitted Lionel Messi was "unstoppable" on Wednesday after he left Liverpool needing a miracle to reach the Champions League final. News24 1 day ago: Klopp hails 'unstoppable' Messi after Barca beat Liverpool
Klopp hails departing Sturridge as 'modern-day Liverpool great'
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Warns Players Against Complacency as Man Utd Boss Eyes Seventh Straight Win " I want players to be confident but not complacent and take their foot off the pedal, because
Man Utd Dimitar Berbatov icon warns Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is
Mauricio Pochettino must deal with several injuries in his squad, as well as Heung-min Son's suspension due to bookings tallying up in previous rounds. In addition, the Amsterdam based club will have had seven days to prepare for the Tuesday's tie, compared to only three in the the North London club's case.
"I've got five Champions Leagues, you have none," was Cristiano Ronaldo's icy response as he rushed through Atletico Madrid's Wanda Metropolitano mixed zone Wednesday night, after the former Real Madrid star's return to his old city had gone disastrously for both him and his new team, Juventus.
Mullin steps down at St. John's; Hurley next? | EURO-NEWS
Thanks for watching ! SUBSCRIBE to receive more videos for free. Rockets aim to keep momentum HOUSTON - After the Houston Rockets easily downed the San Antonio Spurs, James Harden was asked about
Nuggets aim to keep momentum going in Game 5 vs. Trail Blazers
GOLTV is a Soccer focused Cable network which serves both the English and Spanish speaking soccer fans in the United States. GolTV USA - Rangers out of Europa League, Eintracht fans run riot at Lazio Rangers crashed out of the Europa League on Thursday after falling 1-0 at Rapid Vienna, while crowd trouble sparked by Eintracht Frankfurt fans
Rangers Out Of Europa League, Eintracht Fans Run Riot At
Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri has revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo should be fit for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Ajax this week. The Portuguese star has
Ronaldo fit for Juventus clash with Ajax - Allegri - Reuters
Tottenham forward Son Heung-Min made his long-awaited debut at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, to help South Korea seal top spot in Group C with a 2-0 win over Marcello Lippi's China.
Son Heung-min helps South Korea beat China 2-0 at Asian Cup
0 comments:
Post a Comment