Was this the answer fans wanted to hear?
Jose Mourinho sent social media into a frenzy on Wednesday with his comments about the futures of Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford.
Pogba and Rashford have more or less failed to impress a significant section of the fan base this season with relatively average performances.
Though Pogba improved after his awful display in the Champions League knockout stages, Rashford’s decision making and the manager’s comments after matches have led to speculation about the 20-year-old’s future.
Marcus Rashford failed to square a ball to Martial in the 1-0 defeat to Brighton, a chance fans believed could have put Man United 1-0 up. After the match, Mourinho told journalists that some of his players are not good individually as people think they are and that now they knew why he always starts some players ahead of others.
Rumours started flying around about an impending loan spell for Rashford next season, a rumour Mourinho quashed during his press conference yesterday.
When questioned about the possibility of Rashford leaving in the summer, Mourinho said that the youngster had already impressed him since he is the only player to have made more appearances since he took over from Louis Van Gaal in 2016.
“No. What does he need to do to impress me? He impresses me. That's the reason why he was selected for every match of the season, absolutely every match of the season and that's why he played in so many of them, so he doesn't need to leave to play. He doesn't need anything,” said Mourinho.
Journalists then quizzed Mourinho on Pogba’s chances of leaving in the summer, to which the ‘Special One’ replied, “I think he's going to be here next season. That's my feeling. I can give the guarantee that I don't want him to leave. I can give you the guarantee that the club doesn't want to sell him and I can give you the guarantee that we don't have any approach from him, from his agent or from any club. So, in this moment, for me, he's staying.”
Pogba has been linked with a move away from Old Trafford following a reported ‘fallout’ with the manager. However, the French midfielder dismissed speculation about his disagreement with Mourinho, saying he respects the coach’s decisions and that he does his talking on the pitch.
“There is no problem with Mourinho. It's not me who picks the team. I respect his choices,” said Pogba. It is clear Mourinho intends to keep both Pogba and Rashford at Man United next season, but the situation could change given the areas of his team he wants to strengthen in the transfer window.
Just seeing some of the tweets regarding Mourinho’s comments on Pogba and Rashford.
It’s beyond laughable. How anyone thinks there’s even a chance of either of them leaving is beyond me.— Paul Harrison (@PaulHarrisonUTD) May 9, 2018
It's really evident how happy Pogba, Martial, Rashford, Luke Shaw are to play under Mourinho. They have progressed so much as a player under him and seem an essential part of Mou's plan... NOT— Utsab Gupta (@Utsab_Gupta) May 9, 2018
Fergies gone, yes but we have the players to play good football. Obviously a few additions needed, specifically full backs but an attack minded manager would get the best out of Rashford, Martial, Lukaku, Sanchez, Pogba etc. We won't win the league under Mourinho. https://t.co/ZtfVK3JFHV— Craig Farrell (@CraigFarrell_19) May 5, 2018
The sooner mourinho leaves united the better. He is poison. Openly insults and criticizes young players like martial, pogba, shaw and to a lesser extent rashford all season. Trying to fool fans into thinking they are bad players so he wont get slated when he sells them.— Seán MacEoin (@keonzer6) May 9, 2018
