Gary Neville casts doubt on Paul Pogba's Manchester United future after first-team return
Gary Neville has questioned whether Paul Pogba still wants to be at Manchester United.
The France international returned to the United side for the first time since September, appearing as a second-half substitute in Sunday's 2-0 defeat by Watford.
Pogba was heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid last summer, and his future has again been up for discussion as the January transfer window approaches.
A mid-season exit has been ruled out by both United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Mino Raiola, Pogba's agent.
But Neville believes the midfielder would still prefer to play his football elsewhere, with United now trailing the top four by seven points.
"We know he [Pogba] will score goals and get assists, but every week single week Solskjaer is fielding questions about his future, so he needs to settle down at the club, or he needs to leave," he told Sky Sports.
"The team has developed without him. They need players who want to be at the club. His agent has spoken again this week.
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"I think Solskjaer is playing a clever game right now, or he desperately wants him to stay. If he came out and said 'No, Pogba does not have a future here' then it would depreciate the price heavily.
"So I think he’s saying Pogba has a future here, but I can’t believe there isn’t something going on behind the scenes, especially when you hear the agent’s comments this week.
"Every inclination I get from the situation is that he wants to play football for someone else. My view would be that Manchester United would be better off without that if that’s the case.
"I think there will be clubs interested. He gets goals, assists and he is a player. He is Manchester United’s best player but does he want to play for the club?"
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Greg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).