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Man Utd backed to sign N’Golo Kante and Declan Rice to tempt Paul Pogba to stay
MANCHESTER UNITED boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer should go all out to sign N’Golo Kante and Declan Rice in order to tempt Paul Pogba to stay.
That is the view of former Liverpool and England striker Stan Collymore, who also suggests that Pogba could regret rejoining Manchester United from Juventus in 2016.
Pogba is edging closer to a Real Madrid transfer this summer as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer tries to refresh his United squad while reducing the club’s extortionate wage bill.
Zinedine Zidane has been open about his admiration for Pogba since the French boss returned to Los Blancos last season, but the clubs remain in disagreement over his valuation.
Collymore has urged Solskjaer to do all he can to keep the France international at Old Trafford, and believes two signings would be enough to persuade him to stay.
“It would be hard to get Kante out of Chelsea or Declan Rice out of West Ham, but that doesn’t mean United shouldn’t try for both,” he told the Mirror.
Collymore went on to suggest that the Pogba, 26, might not have left Juventus in 2016 if he had analysed the United squad at the time.
He continued: “I say all this because I wonder now if Paul Pogba wishes he’d sat down with his advisers and family before returning to Manchester United and looked forensically at the players at the club.
“Because, if he had, I’m not sure he would have decided it really was the right move for him.
“It’s a mistake many players make and all too often the size of the dough on offer cancels out everything else.
“I fundamentally believe that is what has happened in Pogba’s case.
“That the money and emotional pull of returning to Old Trafford were so big that he neglected to consider if it really was the best move.
“What he should have been looking at – and what I hope he is looking at now, if he is able to engineer a route out of United – is whether or not he can be a functioning cog in a well-oiled machine rather than a standout part in one that has otherwise got a bit rusty.”
Solskjaer wasted no time in making his view that no player is bigger than the club clear when he replaced Jose Mourinho in December, but he also remains a fan of what Pogba can offer on the pitch.
If the World Cup winner does leave this summer, Collymore is backing Solskjaer to reinvest the transfer fee wisely, rather than splashing out on a big-money deal.
He concluded: “Of course, if Pogba is allowed to go, then Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will have big money to reinvest and I’d go down a different route to the Galacticos-like path United have trodden in recent seasons.
“I’d be looking at a mixture of Rice, James Maddison and Matteo Guendouzi, three players who would thrive at United. They’re young, talented, you could bring them up together and even have a little change left over from Pogba – even if you signed all three.”