“He needs to change team, he needs a change of scene. He has a contract that expires in a year and a half’s time, in the summer of 2022, but I think the best solution would be for him to leave in the next transfer window.

“Otherwise the club from Old Trafford, with whom he has a good relationship, know very well that they risk losing him on a free transfer, considering that right now he does not want to extend his deal.

“If people don’t get that, they know very little about football. In any case, they’ll all blame me if Paul leaves next summer.”

United return to action tonight when they take on Everton in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.