Pogba to make second United debut against Southampton

Paul Pogba will make his second Manchester United debut in Friday’s Premier League fixture with Southampton at Old Trafford, Jose Mourinho has confirmed.

France midfielder Pogba was unavailable to make his first appearance since becoming the world’s most expensive footballer at Bournemouth last weekend due to a suspension held over from last season’s Coppa Italia.

Doubts over Pogba’s fitness have been brushed off by Mourinho, who claims the former Juventus man is fitter than players he selected in the Community Shield win over Leicester City two weeks ago.

Mourinho told MUTV: “We played against Leicester with players with less training than him and we saw that match as a way to improve them. 

“With Paul it’s a bit the same – not one single minute of any pre-season match but almost two weeks of work with us, sometimes with the group, sometimes separately, and the condition is okay to play some minutes.”

Chris Smalling has also returned from suspension and will be available for the visit of Claude Puel’s side.