Can Fred help Pogba flourish?

For a while, it seemed as if Jonny Evans was on his way to Manchester City, and then it was rumoured that Manchester United coach Jose Mourinho fancied him for defence. He was cheap - just £3m plus whatever his agent demanded - he knew the club, and he knew the league. However that move is not coming to pass, because Leicester City have decided to get things sorted quickly this summer, and they’ve bought him for that £3m. It’s no disaster, as he was only worth bringing in as a reserve, and we’ve not got rid of Chris Smalling or Phil Jones yet. Or Daley Blind. Or... you get the point.

Former Porto defender Diogo Dalot has had his move to United confirmed for around £18m. He can play on either side of defence, and is a big lump. That’s the kind of thing that Mourinho wants in his defenders, so we can have fewer excuses next season. Dalot said he could not turn down an offer from the biggest club in the world, meaning that Real Madrid must not have bid for him.

United’s manager has given his predictions for England at the World Cup, and for the tournament itself. He has taken a political guess that England will finish above Belgium in the group, but unfortunately - for those who support England - he doesn’t think they have much hope when things get serious. He also hopes for an early exit for Nemanja Matic’s Serbia.

The Independent talk about Fred’s balls of steel, and there’s an account in this article that he has the tools to allow Paul Pogba to flourish. The thing is, Pogba already has the tools to flourish, it’s just that he’s too much of a tool himself to get down to sorting it out. One season, at most, left, before patience will wear out.