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Mourinho affirms Pogba arrival: 'Finally we have him'

Reuters

To see a list of completed deals in the summer window thus far, visit theScore's Premier League transfer tracker.

Jose Mourinho is finally allowing himself to talk about Paul Pogba as a Manchester United player.

Dodging questions for the past few weeks as his club pursued the France international, the Red Devils manager could admit his relief Sunday.

"Finally we have him," Mourinho told reporters after United's 2-1 Community Shield win over Leicester City. "He comes to a winning side."

He added, "United is the perfect club to bring him to the level he wants to be."

Mourinho said he'll be "waiting" to meet Pogba on Tuesday, meaning the deal is likely to be wrapped up within the next 48 hours.

Related: Zlatan delivers as Mourinho era begins with Community Shield victory

The Portuguese gaffer couldn't say whether United would be paying a world-record fee, but it's believed to be worth €110 million with add-ons.

The Premier League outfit confirmed earlier in the day that Juventus gave the go-ahead for Pogba to complete a medical ahead of his much-ballyhooed transfer. Negotiations have been ongoing for the majority of the summer, with agent Mino Raiola's commission said to be the main sticking point.

Mourinho had asked the United hierarchy for "four or five" new players upon his appointment in May. Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward managed to sign Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Eric Bailly, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan early on in the transfer window, but Pogba remained the elusive target.

The 23-year-old sought refuge on vacation in the United States, leaving everything to the imagination as he uploaded cryptic posts on Instagram.

Pogba enjoyed four successful seasons with Juventus after joining the Bianconeri from United for a relative pittance.

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