Ralf Rangnick believes Paul Pogba will give his all for United until the end of the season — if only to secure a big-money move away this summer.
Pogba trained for the first time in two and a half months on Monday following a thigh injury, and is set to play again early next month.
By then, United’s record £89million signing will have less than five months left on his £295,000-a-week contract.
‘By the way, my contract as a manager is also expiring in the summer,’ said United’s interim boss ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Brentford.
‘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 and fully fit again – also want to show up?
‘He wants to show the fans of Manchester United, the board, the whole world what kind of player he can be. Even if it’s only to show enough for a new contract elsewhere, he will be highly motivated to do that.
‘Why should I then not play him? There is a difference of how players deal with their current situation. If they handle that in a professional way, of course I will play players although they have a contact expiring in the summer.’
Rangnick praised Pogba’s performance levels in training, having previously disagreed with the fact that the player was recovering from his injury in Dubai rather than Carrington.
‘He showed what an extraordinary player he could be,’ added Rangnick. ‘What I saw was very promising for the future. After the international break, I think he will be a serious candidate for the first XI.’
The German has been less impressed with the attitude of Pogba’s compatriot Anthony Martial, and the two men clashed over Rangnick’s claim that Martial did not want to be part of the squad at Aston Villa on Saturday.
However, he insisted that the matter is now closed following a clear-the-air meeting.
‘I nominated him before the game and he was not part of the group. You can draw your own conclusions from that,’ said Rangnick on Tuesday.
‘I had a personal conversation with him on Sunday about what happened and how I saw the whole situation, and the matter is now resolved.’ Rangnick has also spoken to Jadon Sancho after United’s £73million summer signing was left on the bench at Villa Park in favour of teenager Anthony Elanga.