Pogba declares himself ready for United’s game against Southampton

Manchester United’s Paul Pogba has indicated he will be fit for selection against Southampton on Friday as he looks to be involved for the first time since his world-record transfer.

Pogba, 23, has had to wait to get his season started, missing the 3-1 win at Bournemouth last Sunday because of a suspension carried over from the previous campaign when he was still with Juventus.

A busy summer with France, who reached the Euro 2016 final, was followed by an extended vacation in the United States and his move back to Manchester, four years after leaving United as a 19-year-old.

It meant he joined up with Jose Mourinho’s squad later than others, yet the 23-year-old has said he is ready to go if called upon against the Saints.

“You have to ask the manager but I feel very good and have been training for 10 days. I am OK,” Pogba said on the Manchester Evening News website.

“I am quite used to this [busy summer]. I played the World Cup two years ago when at Juve and three years ago I was at the Under-20s World Cup as well. So I am OK. It is about your body and I have been training on my holidays.”

The £89.3 million fee which United parted with to bring back a player who left them four years earlier eclipsed the sum Real Madrid gave Tottenham for Gareth Bale in 2013.

Yet despite carrying the tag of being the most expensive player in the world, Pogba has said he is paying little attention to his market value.

“I am just happy to play football, I don’t even think about it,” he added. “My ambition is always be the the number one and be the best. So the objective is to win the league. We want to go back to the Champions League because that is where we belong.”