Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson furious as midfielder Paul Pogba rejects offer in favour of Juventus

Sir Alex Ferguson is understood to be furious with Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba and his representatives after the French teenager rejected a contract offer in favour a £1 million-a-year deal at Juventus.

End of the road: Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba is now training with the reserves  

Pogba, 18, had been regarded as the most promising youngster within Manchester United's youth set-up, with many observers comparing him to a young Patrick Vieira.

But despite persistent attempts to persuade the star of last season’s FA Youth Cup winning team to commit to a new contract at Old Trafford, Pogba has now agreed to move to Juventus, with agent Mino Raiola helping secure a lucrative deal.

Ferguson had claimed earlier this season that Pogba was receiving bad advice and had warned the player not to allow greed to influence his decision over his future.

With Juventus, AC Milan, Arsenal and Manchester City all being made aware of Pogba’s failure to commit himself to United, Ferguson enlisted the help of senior players Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra in an effort to persuade Pogba to extend his stay at the club.

But those attempts have now failed and United are only set to receive a small amount of compensation, approximately £300,000, from Juventus this summer.

With negotiations stalling last month, Pogba was surprisingly left out of the United team for the Europa League clash with Ajax after Ferguson had admitted he was ready to select the youngster, who has made four senior appearances for the club this season.

Pogba is now understood to be training with the reserves at United after making it clear that he will be leaving the club.

United overcame stern resistance from Le Havre to sign Pogba in October 2009, with the French outfit threatening to report the Old Trafford club to Fifa for poaching before ultimately standing aside.

But with the player out of contract at the end of this season, United have been powerless to thwart Juventus’s move.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes his tactics were wrong in the first half against Tottenham

Sir Alex Ferguson admits his side were lucky to come away with a 3-1 victory and feels he may have got his tactics wrong at White Hart Lane.

Close watch: Sir Alex Ferguson at White Hart Lane

Despite his frank admission, the Manchester United manager still feels his side will hold their nerve as they look to overtake Manchester Cityand defend their Premier League title.

United were lucky to be leading 1-0 at half-time after Tottenham Hotspur wasted several good opportunities and had David de Gea to thank for making two superb saves.

Ferguson is well aware that United need to show a big improvement if they are to keep the pressure on City and was grateful that the luck went his way in north London.

Ferguson said: “We carried a bit of luck today. It’s an entirely unbelievable result. I would say that’s our hardest away game of the season.

“In fairness, the first half, we were never at the races. Maybe we got our tactics wrong. What we tried to do was come back off them and sit back a little bit and draw them onto us and then play on the counter-attack. But it didn’t work.

“Second half, we pushed up more on them, challenged their back four better, and it did make a difference.”

Ferguson had special praise for De Gea, who defied his critics to show again why Ferguson paid so much money to bring him to Old Trafford last summer with a superb save to deny Jake Livermore.

Ferguson added: “Fantastic save, absolutely brilliant, and that’s the kind of save that the boy’s capable of making. He did it last week at Norwich, made two or three great saves then. He’s done it again.”

With 11 games left, Ferguson is convinced his side have enough experience to reduce the two-point gap on Manchester City and keep their nerve at a critical stage of the season.

“Teams will drop points, but the important thing is not to drop as many as your opponents. We’ve got experience, we won’t get nervous, we’re enjoying it, and the battling performance we gave today against a very good team tells you that we’re up for it.”

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson plans to bulk up David de Gea to help him adjust

Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted that Manchester United are attempting to accelerate David de Gea’s adjustment to English football by increasing the goalkeeper’s weight by at least a stone.

Weighty issue: Sir Alex Ferguson wants keeper David de Gea to put on a stone 

De Gea, an £18.3 million signing from Atletico Madrid last summer, has endured a difficult first season as Edwin van der Sar’s anointed successor at Old Trafford.

The 21 year-old’s slender frame and unconvincing attempts to collect high balls into the penalty area has led to opponents targeting the youngster with physical tactics at set-pieces.

De Gea has already been placed on a tailored strengthening programme similar to that adopted by Mexican forward Javier Hernandez last season, which has been devised by United’s senior fitness coach, Tony Strudwick.

But after calling for the goalkeeper to be offered better protection by referees earlier this season, citing the “physical abuse” on De Gea by West Bromwich Albion on the opening day of the campaign, Ferguson has now conceded that De Gea must bulk up to succeed in the Premier League.

“The boy has got talent,” Ferguson said. “He’s lightning quick, but he has just found it difficult to adjust to some parts of the game here.

“It’s a matter of developing his frame and he’s doing a lot of work in the gym. If we can get maybe a stone on him without losing any of his flexibility or speed it would be a great boost to him.”

With Danish goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard returning to light training this week following an ankle ligament sustained in training four weeks ago, De Gea’s recent return to form is likely to benefit from added competition provided by Lindegaard within the next fortnight.

But while Lindegaard’s return to the training pitch is a positive development for United, Ferguson is likely to be without defender Chris Smalling for Sunday’s clash against Tottenham at White Hart Lane.

Smalling was unable to train on Thursday after suffering a sickening clash of heads with Holland forward Klaas-Jan Huntelaar while playing for England on Wednesday evening.

The 22 year-old was carried off and taken to hospital as a result of the collision and Ferguson is expected to confirm today the full extent of Smalling’s injury.

Wayne Rooney, who missed the England game and United’s last two fixtures against Norwich and Ajax with a throat infection, has trained this week and is set to be in the squad for the Spurs game.

And Michael Owen, sidelined since last November with a thigh injury, trained for the first time on Thursday after being given the all-clear to begin his attempt at a comeback.

Meanwhile, the Rayo Vallecano right-back Tito, 26, has claimed that United’s European scout, Martin Ferguson, watched him in action against Real Madrid last Sunday.