Manchester United news: Old Trafford chief Ed Woodward skips flight to China to complete Paul Pogba deal
Woodward will be expected to join the tour at a later stage
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Your support makes all the difference.Manchester United’s Ed Woodward has not flown out with the squad to China for the first leg of the club’s pre-season tour as he attempts to seal a record-breaking deal for Paul Pogba, reports suggest.
The United executive vice-chairman had originally been due to fly to China, according to The Times, but has pulled out to focus his attention on the Pogba transfer which appears to be nearing its conclusion with each passing day.
Jose Mourinho is keen to finalise the deal before the end of the week but the Frenchman would not be expected to join the squad in China as he recovers from his Euro 2016 campaign.
United flew to Shangai on Tuesday 19 with a 25-man squad that included new signings Eric Bailly and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was left out having also starred at Euro 2016.
Unsurprisingly, the club refused to say whether Woodward was on yesterday’s flight or whether any potential absence was related to their efforts to re-sign Pogba.
Woodward has pulled out of United’s pre-season tours in the past in order to conduct the club’s transfer business. In 2013, the executive vice-chairman flew home from the summer tour to Asia in an attempt to bring Cesc Fabregas to Old Trafford.
Fans will hope that Woodward enjoys more success this time round though after Chelsea eventually managed to secure the Spaniard’s signature.
Woodward’s absence has left managing director Richard Arnold the senior executive on the trip but it’s anticipated that he will join the tour at some point.
United’s pre-season fixtures get underway on Friday when they play Borussia Dortmund in Shanghai before meeting Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in Beijing’s Bird’s Nest Stadium on Monday.
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