Ralf Rangnick will allow Paul Pogba to put himself in the shop window in the next few months to earn a contract offer away from Manchester United.
The France international’s deal at Old Trafford is up at the end of the season and he has not put pen to paper on the new contract which has been on the table since the summer.
Unless the midfielder has a last minute change of heart he looks set to leave the club on a free transfer for the second time in his career but his unsigned contract will not stop Rangnick selecting him when he is back to full fitness.
What has been said?
Anthony Martial has not featured in a Premier League squad for Manchester United since the start of December after telling club chiefs he wants to leave this month, but Rangnick says Pogba will not be given the same treatment despite also wanting to go.
“Yes of course,” Rangnick replied when asked if there was any point in playing Pogba even though he knows he wants to leave.
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“I also played Nemanja Matic in the last games and his contract is also expiring. By the way, my contract as a manager is also expiring in the summer. For us we have the same goal. We have the same ambition to be as successful as we can possibly be in the next three or four months.
“For me it's not a question if a player has an expiring contract, the question is how much does he still want to be a part of this group, how much does he still feel emotionally and physically on board. As long as this is the case, why shouldn't Paul Pogba now after two and half months of injury, fully fit again now and he also wants to show up, he wants to show the fans of Manchester United, the board, the whole world what kind of player he can be and even if it's only to show enough for a new contract elsewhere, he will be highly motivated to do that and why should I then not play him?
“But as I said, there is a difference of how players deal with their current situation. How do they handle that? If they handle that in a professional way, an ambitious way, of course I will play players although they have a contract expiring in the summer.”
When will Pogba be available?
United travel to Brentford in the Premier League on Wednesday but the game is too soon for the midfielder to feature as he only returned to full training on Monday. Rangnick is hopeful the 28-year-old will be fit for the FA Cup clash against Middlesbrough on Friday, February 4, which is the first game back after the break.
The last game Pogba played for United was the 2-2 draw against Atalanta in the Champions League at the start of November. He hasn’t played in the league since the end of October when he came on as second half substitute in the 5-0 defeat to Liverpool and was sent off 15 minutes later.
Where are the contract negotiations up to?
A new contract has been on the table from United since last summer but the midfielder has not signed and talks have been ongoing in the background. Sources said the club were preparing to lose the 28-year-old on a free transfer in the summer rather than sell him in the current window.
Pogba’s agent Mino Raiola has consistently stated his client’s desire for a new challenge and he is able to negotiate with foreign clubs over a pre-contract agreement this month.