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Paul Pogba: Jose Mourinho reveals why star captains Man Utd against Leicester
PAUL POGBA has been made Manchester United captain by Jose Mourinho against Leicester City this evening.
Man United fan: We need Paul Pogba to play in Leicester game
The Frenchman has been the subject of major transfer speculation this summer after a difficult season under Mourinho.
Pogba was dropped on numerous occasions last term, and was singled out for criticism from the United boss.
But Mourinho appears to have buried the hatchet with his superstar midfielder, amid continued interest from Barcelona, handing him the captain's armband for the 2018/19 curtain raiser.
And before the game, the United chief explained his reasoning behind the decision, praising Pogba at the same time.
"I don't want to speak about the season, I want to speak about the match," he told Sky Sports.
"We are going to try everything to start well and go into next week with a good spirit.
"The players involved in the World Cup semi-finals started training on Monday and some of them are involved today to help the team.
"Nemanja Matic is unavailable, Jesse Lingard doesn't feel he is in a position to help us but Romelu Lukaku can give us a hand from the bench.
He has come up through the academy and he knows what the club means
"Antonio Valencia is the captain but he is not here so Paul Pogba is captain.
"He has come up through the academy and he knows what the club means."
United are without a host of big names, many of whom went deep into the World Cup earlier this summer.
As Mourinho mentioned, Lingard and Matic miss out.
But the likes of Ashley Young, Romelu Lukaku and Anthony Martial all start on the bench.
As for Leicester, Harry Maguire starts for the club despite his England exploits this summer.
The defender was heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford on the back of his impressive World Cup showing.
However, United failed to strengthen their central defender department in recent weeks.