MANCHESTER, Sporting Alert – Manchester United completed the signing of Paul Pogba from Juventus and midfielder will wear the number six shirt this season.
Pogba, who left the Red Devils four years ago on a free transfer to Serie A champions Juventus, returned to Old Trafford for a world-record transfer fee of £89m on Tuesday morning.
The Frenchman is the fourth and will probably be the last signing for Jose Mourinho this summer, and the Portuguese coach is delighted to have gotten his man.
“Paul is one of the best players in the world and will be a key part of the United team I want to build here for the future,” said Mourinho.
“He is quick, strong, scores goals and reads the game better than many players much older than he is.
“At 23, he has the chance to make that position his own here over many years.
“He is young and will continue to improve; he has the chance to be at the heart of this club for the next decade and beyond.”
Pogba could play alongside Michael Carrick or Daley Blind in the central part of the Manchester United field.
Mourinho, who took over from the sacked Louis van Gaal at the end of the last season, revealed this summer that his plan was to always sign a big name player and had identified the powerful midfielder as his main target.
Pogba now joins the club’s three other summer signings – Eric Bailly, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Bailly, Ibrahimovic and Mkhitaryan all made their debuts for Manchester United in the Community Shield on Sunday in a 2-1 victory over defending Premier League champions Leicester City.
PREMIER LEAGUE SQUAD NUMBERS FOR 2016/17*
1: De Gea 3: Bailly 4: Jones 5: Rojo 6: Pogba 7: Memphis 8: Mata 9: Ibrahimovic 10: Rooney 11: Martial 12: Smalling 14: Lingard 15: Januzaj 16: Carrick 17: Blind 18: Young 19: Rashford 20: S. Romero 21: Herrera 22: Mkhitaryan 23: Shaw 24: Fosu-Mensah 25: Valencia 27: Fellaini 28: Schneiderlin 31: Schweinsteiger 32: Johnstone 33: McNair 36: Darmian 38: Tuanzebe 43: Borthwick-Jackson 44: Pereira 48: Keane
