Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba have emerged as Jose Mourinho’s most powerful dressing-room allies

New Old Trafford arrivals give Special One regular soundings about United’s progress on and off the field

ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC and Paul Pogba have emerged as the most powerful dressing-room allies of Jose Mourinho at Manchester United.

Despite his detached approach, the Special One takes regular soundings from the pair about United’s progress.

Mourinho, who went studs up on Luke Shaw and Chris Smalling after they declared themselves unavailable at Swansea, has made it clear he will stick to his tough-guy approach.

But Ibrahimovic and Pogba are his go-to men in the dressing-room – as he looks to fix the club’s internal problems.

Speaking earlier this week, the Old Trafford chief said: “If I were to speak with the many great football people of this team, they will say many times they played without being 100 per cent.

“For the team you have to do anything. That is my way of seeing.”

Mourinho is said to be convinced he can return the club to former glories, but the current squad must work harder to get through their current inconsistent patch.

Phil Jones has played his way back into contention after his excellent performance in South Wales, his first competitive match since January.

United are set to recall Andreas Pereira from Granada in January after their slow start to the season.

And SunSport revealed yesterday how Mourinho has acted to rid a mole from the camp after his team-sheets were leaked.