Paul Pogba will hold talks with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after publicly declaring his intention to leave Manchester United.
And the France international has just days to convince his manager to let him go before being forced to join the rest of his teammates on tour to Australia and the Far East.
Solskjaer’s squad fly out to Perth on July 7 and the Norwegian wants the majority of his new signings in place by then, having already secured deals for Daniel James and Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
He also wants to know which ones will be exiting the club, with uncertainty over the futures of Pogba and Romelu Lukaku in particular.
United’s players report back to Carrington on Monday for the start of pre-season training.
Solskjaer will address all of them - but establishing Pogba’s mindset is his most pressing task.
The midfielder announced this month that it was time for a “new challenge” and is desperate to work under his idol Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid.
United are adamant their £89million record signing is not for sale at any price, and are preparing for him to be at the heart of Solskjaer’s plans next season.
But they were compiling a dossier of potential midfield targets even before Pogba's comments during a promotional trip to Japan, which could see them replace him and still walk away with a huge profit.
It is believed an offer of around £150m would be required to convince them to sell.
That would leave them free to move for Youri Tielemans, Christian Eriksen or James Maddison - three of the names on their shortlist - while still being left with up to £110m extra to boost Solskjaer’s spending power.
Talks have been held over a move for Tielemans, who is valued in the region of £40m by Monaco - but he is closing in on a move to Leicester.
United expect Eriksen - who has just one year remaining on his Tottenham contract - to be available for between £70-80m.
Spurs are prepared to sell - and the Dane represents a marquee signing that would soften the blow of Pogba’s departure for supporters and investors.
Meanwhile, early enquiries for Maddison suggest it would take upwards of £60m to prise him away from Leicester.
Solskjaer is determined to gauge how serious Pogba is about moving this summer, after previously being convinced the 26-year-old was committed to the club.
There still remains the likelihood that he will be offered a bumped-up contract to appease him, which United have been lining up for some time.
Keeping Pogba remains the preferred option for Solskjaer and the club’s hierarchy during a summer of major change.
Solskjaer is aiming to bring in five new players during his first summer transfer window after seeing Marouane Fellaini, Ander Herrera and Antonio Valencia depart in the last six months.
Matteo Darmian has also been told he can leave, while United will also listen to offers for Marcos Rojo.
Solskjaer has no great desire to sell Lukaku - but if a club meets the Belgium striker’s £80m valuation, he will be sold too.
Replacing him and Pogba only presents Solskjaer with unwanted difficulties in a pivotal summer.
David de Gea’s future is also uncertain as the goalkeeper continues to reject the offer of a new contract.
Pogba has two years left on his contract and the option of a further 12 months, which United can trigger.
It means they are under no pressure to sell - but Solskjaer wants to ensure his highest profile player will not be a negative influence if forced to stay.
Telling him to hold off a move for 12 months, could be the ideal compromise during a period of transition.
