Pogba keen for recall to show he’s real deal

PAUL POGBA is standing by for a Manchester United recall against Liverpool today as he tries to convince the club he is worth a new £350,000-a-week contract.

With Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford and Fred all facing late fitness tests, United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is ready to call upon Pogba, having left him out of the starting line-up against Atalanta following last weekend’s 4-2 defeat at Leicester.

It represents a huge opportunity for the French World Cup-winning midfielder, who was the Premier League’s most expensive player when he joined United for £89million in 2016.

He has rarely lived up to that superstar billing on the pitch and having tried to leave for Real Madrid or Juventus, he is now in the position of persuading United he is worth keeping on a premium salary beyond this final year of his deal.

‘I can’t comment on talks between Paul and the club but of course if Paul is happy here then that is great because we get the best football from him, the same as every single player here,’ Solskjaer said.

‘We need everyone to be giving everything they have and when you see the reaction from the Atalanta game, Paul’s fist pump when we block (Pogba came on as substitute), everyone is giving what they can for the team.

‘Paul is doing that as well and I have to praise him for that.’

United could close the gap on Liverpool to one point if they beat their rivals today — but will fall seven points behind if they lose. ‘We’ve lost points recently that we’re not happy with. We have to take it from here and really, really get going,’ Solskjaer added.

‘There is no time to lose because even though it’s a long season, the teams we are competing against are not going to give you too many options to catch them.’