Pogba in line for Saints debut

PAUL Pogba is ready to feature for Manchester United against Southampton tonight, though Jose Mourinho has warned he may not yet live up to his star billing.

The 23-year-old, who became the world's most expensive footballer when he sealed an £89million return to Old Trafford, missed the start of a season with suspension and has only been training with his new club for 11 days after an extended break at the end of his Euro 2016 excursion.

However, Mourinho is confident he is in a condition to face the Saints, even if he is unlikely to last the 90 minutes.

"We played with some players against Leicester with less training than Paul," the Portuguese said.

"We had guys coming back from the Euros, who were on holidays, had one week of training and they played against Leicester (in the Community Shield), not at the top of their game, not ready for 90 minutes but they played and performed and it was a good way for them to accelerate that process. In this moment they are in the building-up of their form.

ADAPT

"Paul has been training for more than a week, around 10, 11 days, adaptation is really easy because he is a boy from here, he knows the club, he knows everybody. There's no need for time to adapt.

"He needs time to build his condition and his understanding in the way the team tries to play. Yes, he's ready to play. Ninety minutes? I don't believe. Super performance? I don't believe. But in condition to accelerate his process of integration in the team, that's for sure."

Opponents Southampton have emerged from Old Trafford with three points in each of their most two recent campaigns.

When Mourinho, who assumed the reins in the summer, was asked if he can help restore the "fear factor" to his home stadium, the boss placed the onus on United's fans to be more vocal.

"Not me," he said. "The team, yes. And the fans too. Everything starts there - the relationship between the team and the fans."