Paul Pogba transfer: Manchester United ready to accept fate after contract talks stall

Manchester United have made peace with the fact that they are potentially going to lose Paul Pogba on a free transfer next summer. The Red Devils have accepted that the midfielder will not sign a new contract before his current one expires in June 2022.

The Old Trafford club are keen to retain him beyond his current deal and have made more than one offer to Pogba and his agent Mino Raiola. The offers, which are expected to make him one of the highest paid players in the Premier League, have been continually rejected by the Frenchman.

According to ESPN, United management and the owners are not overly concerned about losing him without recouping some of the £89 million they paid Juventus for Pogba in 2016. The club are said to have prepared for the fact that he could leave as a free agent when he signed the five year deal upon joining the club.

The club could raise a fee for Pogba by trying to offload him when the January transfer window opens, but are keen to retain him for the second-half of the campaign. The club sees more benefit in having the midfielder at the club rather than raising a minimal fee by selling him in January.

The France international will not be short of suitors when he decides to leave the club, with the likes of Real Madrid, former club Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain waiting in the wings to sign him. The interested clubs, however, will not make a move in January. Instead, they would preferring to negotiate a free transfer next summer.

Pogba has failed to capture his best form during his time with United and has been in and out of the starting XI in recent campaigns. Under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer he has found regular starts tough to come by, but remains a valued member of the first-team.

The 28-year-old started on the bench for United's 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Liverpool on Sunday before coming on in the second-half. He lasted just 20 minutes before he was dismissed for a dangerous tackle, which will see him miss upcoming games against Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City and Watford.