Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is ready to drop his interest in Juventus’ Paul Pogba should a deal fail to be finalised before August 7's Community Shield game against Leicester City, with Paris Saint-Germain’s Blaise Matuidi the contingency plan.

That’s according to Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News, who stated Mourinho wants the move sewn up quickly and has already isolated an alternative should a world-record deal for Pogba not come off.

While the cutoff point has been set by Mourinho, United are still confident of getting a deal done for Pogba prior to their meeting with Leicester, per Luckhurst.

Although Pogba is eager to rejoin the club and United agreed personal terms with his agent Mino Raiola three weeks ago, it is understood they hit a stumbling block when Juventus refused to pay 50% of agent Raiola's commission and Ed Woodward was unwilling to budge

Pogba, naturally, would be the more exciting capture. His ascension since departing Old Trafford four years ago has been rapid. In Serie A, he’s regularly bossed midfield tussles, bustling past opponents with panache before producing spectacular moments in the attacking third.

However you could argue Matuidi game would be more suited to Mourinho's style. You could argue he’s more suited to Mourinho’s methods too. Pogba, for all his talent, does have a tendency to vacate his position, cling to possession and overcomplicate simple pieces of play—all traits that would likely irritate the pragmatic Portuguese. Matuidi is a much more functional footballer.

The PSG man would offer United greater assurance at the base of the midfield, too. As a left-sided player, he brings balance, while his defensive attributes and unshakeable concentration would offer a sturdy shield to what has been an unconvincing Red Devils defence in recent times.

News of a deadline being set for this deal will be encouraging for United supporters, as the transfer saga has dragged on for much of the summer. They’ll be encouraged to know there’s potentially a great player on the way to Old Trafford in Matuidi should Pogba’s
move collapse.

Read More at http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2654493-manchester-united-transfer-news-paul-pogba-deadline-amid-blaise-matuidi-rumours

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