The honeymoon period for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer appears to be well and truly over.

Manchester United's new permanent manager quickly eradicated the negativity of the Jose Mourinho era by simply going back to basics and using players in their natural positions.

It worked very well for a time, but there was always that lingering feeling that bad results were just over the horizon.

And they have certainly come now, with United losing three of their last five games in all competitions.

There's also doubt surrounding the futures of both Paul Pogba and David de Gea, with the latter no closer to signing a new deal with the Red Devils.

As for Pogba, links to Real Madrid have been rife in recent weeks and there appears to be genuine substance about Los Blancos' interest in the Frenchman.

And to add further fuel to this fire, one of France's most influential publications has come out and explained why Pogba simply has to leave United for the Spanish capital.

France Football explain that Pogba doesn't see himself as the 'squad leader' under Solskjaer, before saying, per Sport Witness: “Signing long-term in a project where the manager’s CV is two league titles and a Norwegian cup or team up with your childhood hero, a compatriot, the only manager in the history of football to have won three Champions Leagues in a row?

“Remain in a league where the intensity of duels tends to level out the technical inequalities, or taste La Liga that knows to be as spectacular but respects the ball more and protects its creators, a group Pogba is a part of, more thanks to stricter referees?”

France Football end their piece by stating that the 26-year-old simply cannot waste his peak years at a team who have ‘forgotten a little, or a lot’ about what playing for United is all about.