Ole Gunnar Solskjær is determined to keep Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford at Manchester United and says they are both vital to the club.
While on international duty with France Pogba said it would be a “dream” to play under Zinedine Zidane, who is again the Real Madrid head coach, and both Pogba and Rashford are reportedly targets of the Spanish club.
Yet Solskjær said the players could achieve their ambitions at United. “They are vital for our future. That’s our aim as a club to be achieving what we have done in the past and that is the expectation here and of course we are hoping to build a team strong enough and worthy of the history of the club.”
On Thursday Solskjær was appointed the club’s permanent manager after a successful temporary spell in charge. The former United striker said it had been his dream to follow the example of Pep Guardiola, the Manchester City manager, who began his career by moving from being a Barcelona player to coaching the second team and then the first XI.
Solskjær managed United reserves from 2008-10 but felt his chance had gone to take the No 1 role after overseeing Cardiff City’s relegation in May 2014.
“When I started with the reserves, I thought: ‘Yeah I like this, I like this environment.’ And of course when I saw what Guardiola did – he went from the reserves and then into Barcelona [top job], I wondered if could I do the same. It didn’t happen [then] and I probably gave up my dream when Cardiff ended as it did.
“Suddenly I am here but I still believe in sports you get what you deserve and I worked very hard, I have been myself, I love working with human beings and maybe that is what has brought me here. It’s been a long journey. I’ve always been the type of guy who plays Football Manager rather than Fifa – I prefer strategy rather than playing the actual game.
“It’s pretty weird, but they [United] have been following me, not only which level I have been working at but how I have been working. They have been convinced that I can take this club further. Naively enough or strangely enough I have always had this belief and this strange dream about being the manager here.”
