Jose Mourinho has said Paul Pogba will start on Friday against Southampton but said hr is not expecting a "super performance" from the world's most expensive footballer. Hannah McKay / Reuters
Jose Mourinho has said Paul Pogba will start on Friday against Southampton but said hr is not expecting a "super performance" from the world's most expensive footballer. Hannah McKay / Reuters

Paul Pogba set for first Manchester United start as he continues his football life less ordinary



Join a club at 16. Make a first start at 23. It suggests slow progress, seven years of lurking in the shadows, playing in the reserves, perhaps being loaned out or injured or simply forgotten. It is scarcely a career path that screams greatness.

But Paul Pogba is no normal footballer and his, already, has been a footballing life less ordinary.

He came to Manchester United in 2009 and left, frustrated by a lack of first-team chances, for a mere £800,000 (Dh3.6 million) three years later.

He has rejoined for £89m. A belated full debut, delayed after seven substitute appearances, four years in Turin and a one-match suspension that ruled him out of Sunday's win at Bournemouth, will eventually come on Friday.

The United midfield functioned well at the Vitality Stadium when Ander Herrera and Marouane Fellaini were surprisingly twinned but formed an effective alliance.

Pogba’s last game was the Euro 2016 final and France’s surprise defeat to Portugal was almost six weeks ago but Jose Mourinho has vowed to pick him.

More from the Premier League:

• Predictions: Paul Pogba and Man United shine, Chelsea hit title form, another win for Liverpool

• The Big Weekend Preview: Arsenal under the gun, Real Madrid and La Liga open play, TV football picks

• Richard Jolly on Pogba's return: World record return a statement of Manchester United's enduring prowess

“He is ready to play,” the United manager said. “We played against Leicester with players with less training than him and we look at that match as a way to improve them, to accelerate that process.

“With Paul, it’s a bit of the same: not one single minute of any pre-season match or friendly but almost two weeks of work with us.”

Pogba is ready but not match-fit, able to play but not, Mourinho thinks, at his optimum level or for the whole game.

“Ninety minutes, I don’t believe; super performance, I don’t believe,” he said.

It is unrealistic to expect Pogba to resemble an £89m footballer just yet.

But his presence guarantees there will be a sense of occasion about Old Trafford on Friday.

Pogba’s image will grace the cover of the programme, albeit with his bleach-blond look.

He has since dyed his hair red to mark his United return. Eyes would have been trained on him anyway, but he will be especially visible.

And it promises to be a day to remember as well as one that says much about the modern-day United.

Their storied history contains many an achievement, but United had never broken the world transfer record before.

Pogba’s arrival reflects a recent fondness for status symbols. United’s validation used to come from silverware. Now it comes from spending.

And United have spent the summer presenting glamorous acquisitions: first Mourinho, then Henrik Mkhitaryan and Eric Bailly, most recently Zlatan Ibrahimovic and now Pogba.

The super-rich operate among a level of the super-famous.

It is telling that Pogba’s agent — or super-agent — Mino Raiola has spent some of his considerable commission on a Miami villa formerly owned by Al Capone.

Pogba has spent a fraction of his sizeable earnings in rather less glamorous surroundings, at Nando’s, in the company of both a new and an old teammate.

He has renewed a friendship with Jesse Lingard, another of United’s 2011 FA Youth Cup-winning side. United’s is not a dressing room full of strangers for him.

“He has adapted really easily because he knows the club, knows everybody,” Mourinho said.

“He has no need to have time to adapt, but he’ll need time to build his condition and his understanding of how the team plays and how he’ll fit in with that.”

The acclimatisation process begins on Friday.

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W.
Wael Kfoury
(Rotana)

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

MATCH INFO

Arsenal 1 (Aubameyang 12’) Liverpool 1 (Minamino 73’)

Arsenal win 5-4 on penalties

Man of the Match: Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Arsenal)

Europe wide
Some of French groups are threatening Friday to continue their journey to Brussels, the capital of Belgium and the European Union, and to meet up with drivers from other countries on Monday.

Belgian authorities joined French police in banning the threatened blockade. A similar lorry cavalcade was planned for Friday in Vienna but cancelled after authorities prohibited it.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
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UAE SQUAD

 

Goalkeepers: Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Adel Al Hosani

Defenders: Bandar Al Ahbabi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Mohammed Barghash, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Hassan Al Mahrami, Yousef Jaber, Mohammed Al Attas

Midfielders: Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan, Abdullah Al Naqbi, Majed Hassan, Abdullah Hamad, Khalfan Mubarak, Khalil Al Hammadi, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Harib Abdallah, Mohammed Jumah

Forwards: Fabio De Lima, Caio Canedo, Ali Saleh, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue

The specs: 2018 Range Rover Velar R-Dynamic HSE

Price, base / as tested: Dh263,235 / Dh420,000

Engine: 3.0-litre supercharged V6

Power 375hp @ 6,500rpm

Torque: 450Nm @ 3,500rpm

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic

Fuel consumption, combined: 9.4L / 100kms

APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)

Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits

Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine

Storage: 128/256/512GB

Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4

Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps

Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID

Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight

In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter

Price: From Dh2,099

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Opening weekend Premier League fixtures

Weekend of August 10-13

Arsenal v Manchester City

Bournemouth v Cardiff City

Fulham v Crystal Palace

Huddersfield Town v Chelsea

Liverpool v West Ham United

Manchester United v Leicester City

Newcastle United v Tottenham Hotspur

Southampton v Burnley

Watford v Brighton & Hove Albion

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Everton

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Super Rugby play-offs

Quarter-finals

  • Hurricanes 35, ACT 16
  • Crusaders 17, Highlanders 0
  • Lions 23, Sharks 21
  • Chiefs 17, Stormers 11

Semi-finals

Saturday, July 29

  • Crusaders v Chiefs, 12.35pm (UAE)
  • Lions v Hurricanes, 4.30pm
Squad for first two ODIs

Kohli (c), Rohit, Dhawan, Rayudu, Pandey, Dhoni (wk), Pant, Jadeja, Chahal, Kuldeep, Khaleel, Shami, Thakur, Rahul.

The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre turbo

Power: 181hp

Torque: 230Nm

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

Starting price: Dh79,000

On sale: Now

Roll%20of%20Honour%2C%20men%E2%80%99s%20domestic%20rugby%20season
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