As Paul Pogba to Manchester United is one of the largest sport stories on the planet at the moment, it would have been hard for Jose Mourinho to avoid speaking about the player when giving an in-depth interview to Sky.
“First of all that player belongs to another club, not a small club, a big club… Other clubs are also involved.
“It’s not a race, the market is already difficult, my board doesn’t need that the pressure comes from the manager, the board needs to feel we have other options.
“I really need for the balance of my squad that we have a midfield player, but we have other options.
“It would not be a surprise for me if it’s not him and is another one… we have two more options.”
There could be plenty of guesswork over who those two options will be, but if one was Andre Gomes then it’s no longer an option, as he’s agreed to join Barcelona.
Mourinho may be calm, publicly, about the situation, but there can be little doubt he’d prefer his first target to be joining, and soon.
