Former Manchester United graduate Ben Thornley has urged Paul Pogba to ignore Real Madrid by suggesting that the Red Devils are in a much better position to deliver trophy success in the forthcoming years. The France international recently spoke about the ambition of playing for the European champions and multiple reports thereafter have tipped Los Blancos to make an approach for his signature.

However, according to former class of 92’ Thornley, Pogba is better off remaining with the Red Devils where he could have the platform in the forthcoming seasons to compete for regular silverware, he said: “I, for one, hope he (Pogba) stays and can visualise what direction Manchester United are going in and knowing that he is an integral part of making sure that that’s where they are going.

“I just think that for him to be mentioning other clubs, he just needs to forget all that. We had it with Juventus when Mourinho was there, and yes I appreciate that Zidane has taken over at Madrid, but I think Madrid are a team in transition now and they are going to have to start building from the bottom again. I think Manchester United are further ahead than Real Madrid and I think Paul Pogba needs to stay and be a part of that.”

Pogba currently has two years remaining on his current contract at United but the club have the option of a 12-month extension clause, if required. As such, the Mancunian giants have no urgency to consider any transfer offers and they are likely to maintain a not-for-sale stance on the midfielder during the summer.

United are presently sixth on the Premier League table and they are currently two points off the top-four positions. However, that gap could be extended further during the forthcoming weekend with fourth-placed Arsenal having a game in hand. Ole’s team are currently on a run of one win and three defeats from the past four matches, and they face a tough challenge against Barcelona during the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final stage next week.