Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says Paul Pogba is a shock contender for the Manchester United captaincy - despite the midfielder wanting to leave.
Solskjaer is looking to appoint a new skipper, following Antonio Valencia's summer exit, and is considering France World Cup winner Pogba in a bid to keep him at Old Trafford.
Pogba has suggested it might be time for a “new challenge”, while his agent Mino Raiola went public with his client's desire to move, claiming United know he wants out.
Real Madrid and Pogba's former club Juventus are in for the 26-year-old, but United will demand £180million for him – double their club record fee they paid for him in 2016.
And in a shock twist to the ongoing saga over Pogba's future, United boss Solskjaer, whose side opened their pre-season campaign with a 2-0 win over Perth Glory, said he was considering handing him the captain's armband.
Asked if Pogba was a contender for the captaincy, Solskjaer said: “Yep. We've got quite a few possibilities there and when the season starts we'll announce it.
“Of course, we'll have a good assessment, see how pre-season goes. But, as you saw, Ashley Young will wear it when he's playing until we decide on someone, yeah.”
Asked why he saw Pogba as captaincy material, Solskjaer remained tight-lipped and said: “Well, I don't think that needs explaining. We'll discuss that later on.”
Young captained United in the first-half in Perth, before Solskjaer changed his entire starting line-up, handing the armband to Juan Mata for the second-half.
Pogba, who provided the assist for Marcus Rashford to score United's opener, was cryptic when asked to speak as he left Perth's Optus Stadium after the win.
“Who needs to talk?” said Pogba. “There's no need.”
Romelu Lukaku, who is wanted by Inter Milan, was asked about his future but would only say “you guys will know something next week”, suggesting he may be on the move.
Inter want a loan deal, paying £9m and then a further £54m in two instalments, but United want £90m for the striker, with a straight cash deal.
On the future of Lukaku, left out of the game with a slight injury issue, Solskjaer said: "There's been so much speculation but he should be fit for Wednesday's game [against Leeds].
"He trained with the team yesterday but it wasn't useful today to risk him, to be fair. "Let's see when the season starts - we've not had any bids we're considering.
"All my conversations I will keep confidential, that's my privilege and I can promise them that I won't tell them our discussions."
James Garner came off the bench to score United's other goal in a comfortable win for United, for whom the only down side was a hamstring strain suffered by Luke Shaw.
