Jose Mourinho says new midfielder will replace Michael Carrick, not Paul Pogba

Paul PogbaManchester United manager Jose Mourinho has revealed his intention to sign another central midfielder in the next transfer window but as a replacement for Michael Carrick not Paul Pogba Mourinho spent the majority of yesterdays press conference ahead of the clubs FA Cup fifthround tie with Huddersfield Town angrily responding to questions over Pogbas future at the club amid speculation of a rift between him and the playerFrench publication LEquipe claimed Pogba who rejoined United from Juventus for Acircpound893 million USD1235 million 1005 million euros in August 2016 had been unhappy in a more defensive role in the team and said his future lay away from Old Trafford Pogba has struggled for form in recent weeks and Mourinho substituted the 24yearold in two of Uniteds last three matchesMourinho however hit back at what believes are lies regarding the France international before he later talked about his desire to strengthen midfield with Carrick 36 set to retire at the end of the season and take up a role on Uniteds coaching staff We need to sign a midfield player said Mourinho Because we are going to lose Michael Carrick Of course we need balance in the teamSome of you the media keep saying that we are going to buy that striker that winger that left winger that right winger The Portuguese boss added You can accuse me of many things but you cannot say that I lied to you When I dont want to say things I dont say them But I dont take you in other directions We are looking and we are going to try to sign a midfield playerMcTominay didnt arrive from the moonCarrick himself has talked up 21yearold Scott McTominay as a potential replacement and Mourinho insisted he is aware of the academy graduates ability having utilised him in 12 games this season Scott McTominay didnt arrive here from the moon added the former Chelsea boss Before he came to the firstteam he trained with us many times last seasonHe came to us in preseason and then we realised that with Andreas Pereira going to Valencia we decided not to buy another player because we had Scott McTominay ready to step up The objective of having a squad that is not so big is exactly to be open for this United second in the Premier League but a huge 16 points adrift of leaders Manchester City face a crunch period of matches after Saturdays clash These include a twolegged Champions League tie against Sevilla and league games with top four rivals Chelsea and LiverpoolMourinho however insisted United will not treat the FA Cup which he won while at Chelsea in 2007 lightly Lets go step by step The next one is the one that on Saturday at 730pm we are out of the FA Cup or we are in the quarterfinal draw he said It is black or white Its not grey That is really important because its a knockout match We are going to face the game in the best possible waySevilla is half of a knockout so not so crucial as Huddersfield but almost We are going to try we are going to try The Champions League is more difficult than the Europa League we all know that And the FA Cup in this moment I believe all the top teams I think only Liverpool and Arsenal are out A nice draw for Chelsea for Man City for Tottenham Top teams are going to be in the quarterfinal Lets make sure we are there too but even the FA Cup will be tough he addedCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Except for the change in headline the story has been provided ASIS AS AVAILABLE without any verification or editing from our side Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason