ESPN pundit Gabriele Marcotti has urged Manchester United to part ways with midfielder Paul Pogba and find a replacement before the transfer deadline next week. The France international has been regularly linked with a move to Real Madrid this summer and reports have emerged that Los Blancos may eventually come up with a big-money bid for the 26-year-old.

Speaking on ESPN, Marcotti cited that the Red Devils should utilise the remaining days of the Premier League transfer window to pursue a replacement for Pogba, who won’t have second thoughts of joining Los Blancos, should the opportunity arise. He added that the Red Devils may even risk losing the midfielder after the transfer deadline, should Los Blancos tempt them with an insane offer.

He said: “If the opportunity arises and it makes sense for United, I don’t think he’d [Pogba] necessarily turn down an opportunity to join Real Madrid. If they’re clever about it, they [United] might want to do some of their business before the transfer window shuts here in England – obviously well before it shuts in Spain – simply because you don’t want to be in a situation where Real Madrid rock up with some insane offer for Pogba that you can’t turn down.”

The Premier League transfer window closes on August 8 and that presents the teams with a potential disadvantage when compared to the Spanish clubs , who have another three weeks to complete their business. At present, United have been touted to land the signature of Sergej Milinkovic-Savic from Lazio and reports indicate that he could act as a direct replacement for Pogba.

Should the deal not materialise, the Frenchman could be forced to wait until January at the least to leave Old Trafford, considering the Red Devils won’t make the bizarre decision to sanction his sale without a replacement at hand.