France star would have remained at Juventus this summer
Louis Van Gaal would have rejected a move for Juventus’ Paul Pogba this summer, had he remained as boss of the Red Devils.
That is accord to reports from The Sun, which suggest the Dutchman would have turned down the chance to sign the France international, who helped his country to the final of the European Championships this summer, in favour of developing the club’s young players.
Despite spending almost £300 million on transfers during his two-year reign at United, Van Gaal was keen to give youth a chance, which unearthed the surprise package that was Marcus Rashford, who made England’s Euro 2016 squad this summer.
However, the club’s decision to sack the former Barcelona boss after the club’s FA Cup success at the end of last season avoided such a situation.
Instead, Jose Mourinho came in and outlined his targets early, acquiring big-money transfers in Eric Bailly, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and world-record signing Paul Pogba, as well as free transfer, Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Arguably, Van Gaal would have been wise to not spend so extortionately on a player who the club let go as an outcast, and instead go for the cheaper option of giving one of their academy players their chance in the Premier League.
But Mourinho has challenged his players to win the Premier League during his first season in charge, and has gone after ready-made and proven players, although, he has stated he wants to give United’s young players a chance, too.
