Former Manchester United star Zlatan Ibrahimovic has stated that the Red Devils should sanction the sale of midfielder Paul Pogba this summer amid the speculated interest from Real Madrid. The France international has publicly suggested that he would prefer a new challenge away from Old Trafford this summer and Ibrahimovic feels the club should honour his request.

In a report covered by ESPN, Ibrahimovic said that the midfielder seems to hold the ambition of joining Real Madrid and the Red Devils should part ways with his services, considering the speculation could have a detrimental effect on other members of the squad, he said: “I think if he does not want to stay there is no sense to keep him.

“If he wants to be somewhere else then let him go [when asked about the Real Madrid interest]. Use the situation and bring someone in who wants to be there. With a little over a week of the transfer window remaining, Ibrahimovic reckons United need to sort out Pogba’s future before it begins to have a detrimental effect on the team. In the dressing room the players respect each other.”

Pogba has remained largely quiet since commenting about his future in June, but that has not ceased the speculation regarding his future at Old Trafford. So far, Los Blancos have been reluctant to make a formal offer after learning of United’s £172m price tag for the midfielder but an offer could be made during the early days of August, should they manage to recoup some funds from player sales.

Elsewhere, United have been widely linked with a move for Lazio’s Sergej Milinkovic-Savic but reports suggest that any deal would be dependent on the departure of Pogba. Other than that, the club are working into moves for Bruno Fernandes, Harry Maguire and Paulo Dybala, but they have not found the breakthrough for any of those players up to now.