Manchester United chiefs want Paul Pogba to ink a new long-term contract at Old Trafford, and think Bruno Fernandes could play a huge role in convincing the Frenchman to snub interest from Real Madrid and Juventus. The Daily Mail claims United want to avoid losing Pogba for below his market value, and will be triggering the one-year extension clause in his contract.
Pogba is about to enter into the final year of his contract at United, and can sign a pre-contract with a foreign team in January 2021 if no deal is reached before then.
United are desperate to avoid that happening, having forked out a then-world record £89million to sign him in 2016.
Real Madrid and Juventus are both interested, but United are set to hold firm on their £150m valuation.
It had been expected that selling Pogba would fund moves to sign targets such as Jadon Sancho, Jack Grealish and Jude Bellingham, though it now appears he will stay.
Man Utd news: Old Trafford chiefs hatch secret Paul Pogba plan (Image: GETTY)
The Daily Mail claims United chiefs want Pogba to reconsider his future due to Fernandes, with the pair set to play together in the league for the first time when play resumes on June 17.
United's first game back is set to be against Tottenham on June 19, giving fans their first opportunity to see the two centre-midfielders play together.
Currently, Pogba is set to become a free agent in just over a year's time, and it has been rumoured that interested teams could attempt to sign him on the cheap.
But the same report states United will trigger the one-year contract extension clause in his current deal, if only to sell him at a higher premium later on.
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United are apparently set to do so even if they end up letting him go further down the line, simply because they don't want to sell this summer or see him walk away on a free next year.
The Frenchman recently trained with Fernandes for the first time, having been recovering from an injury when the Portuguese ace arrived from Sporting Lisbon in January.
And the £46.6m man gave fans an insight into how the pair play off one another, as he praised Pogba as one of the best players in the world.
Speaking during an Instagram Q and A, he discussed how excited he was to finally play with the World Cup winner.
Man Utd news: Old Trafford chiefs involve Bruno Fernandes in Paul Pogba transfer plan (Image: GETTY)