Manchester United
Premier League • England
‘He told me’ – Rangnick reveals Pogba talks amid wait for Man Utd return
Ralf Rangnick is ready to be formally introduced to Paul Pogba, but revealed the Manchester United midfielder is not close enough to a return to action yet.
Rangnick will have a significant say in the decisions United make while he serves as interim manager before becoming a consultant. For now, his focus is on improving the team’s fortunes on the pitch.
One player yet to feature for Rangnick is Pogba, who is currently injured. Talk of his future has dominated Man Utd news for a number of months now.
His contract situation will be a bigger issue for Rangnick and his colleagues to resolve. In the short-term, though, the interim manager would just be grateful to get Pogba back on the pitch.
Rangnick says he will meet with the Frenchman soon, even if he can’t play him yet.
“We spoke over the phone two days ago or on Tuesday,” he said at a press conference. “He was still in Dubai. He’s expected to come back today and we will get to know each other in person on Sunday.
“We had a telephone call for around 10 or 15 minutes and he told me he was getting better. Obviously, he still isn’t fully fit and from what I’ve heard it will take another couple of weeks until he’s fit for training again.
“He has been out for quite some time so it will take another couple of weeks to get him match fit.”
Rangnick prioritising offloading players in January
The emphasis will be on trimming the squad down in January rather than building it up.
Rangnick was speaking on the eve of United’s game against Norwich. Pogba is not the only player who he may be without, but only time will tell.
As things stand, Rangnick still has some doubts about a couple of players in relation to their availability.
“We have two or three question marks behind players but they haven’t shown up yet,” he said. “Aaron [Wan-Bissaka] received one or two knocks in the game [against Young Boys].
“There’s still a question mark behind [Nemanja] Matic, who had sort of a cold. I wouldn’t call it a flu. He had a negative test for COVID.”
Rangnick previews Norwich clash
Last time out in the Premier League, United saw off Crystal Palace in a 1-0 win. Norwich will be another tough opponent as they fight for every point they can get.
United will be favourites for the match against the league’s bottom side. However, Rangnick thinks the Canaries are getting better under Dean Smith.
“They have improved since the change of managers,” he said. “They play a little bit more direct, a little bit more vertical than they did with Daniel Farke, so it will be a challenge to play at Carrow Road.
“But we want to improve our performance. We want to build on what we showed against Crystal Palace and hopefully get the next win tomorrow.”
Elsewhere in his press conference, Rangnick spoke about United’s goalkeeper situation and their wider plans for the January transfer window…
READ MORE: Rangnick hints Man Utd could block touted exit despite January admission