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This article is part of Football FanCast's Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers...

Speaking to talkSPORT, former England manager Sam Allardyce has urged Manchester United to sort out the futures of Romelu Lukaku and Paul Pogba sooner rather than later.

What did he say?

Reports in recent weeks have suggested both the Belgian and the Frenchman have been angling for a move away from Old Trafford this summer, but there has appeared to be very little movement in either case.

Following comments from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer that the Red Devils were in no need to sell players this summer, Allardyce has claimed that the Norwegian needs to take control of the situation well before the end of the transfer window.

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He said: "Ole has to go to the owners and say, ‘yes he’s definetely one we want to keep’, or, ‘no it would be better for us all at Manchester United if you get the money for him and spend it elsewhere’.

"But they’re running out of time. Don’t forget, our window shuts on August 8 whereas in Europe it doesn’t – it’s daft. Once it shuts on August 8, it’s shut. January is a long way off and your position can be in jeopardy almost straight away if you pick up a couple of really serious injuries to your top players in your first month."

Quicker the decision, the better

The biggest fear for United, or any side for that matter, is losing one of your star players right before the transfer window deadline and ultimately having no time to replace them. It brings about unnecessary and totally avoidable chaos and the consequences of such decision-making can be huge.

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In keeping a hold of two reported want-away stars like Pogba and Lukaku, United are playing a very dangerous game. The duo - for all their criticisms - have been amongst the side's most high-profile performers and losing either of them would be a huge blow. But, quite crucially, they are replaceable.

The Red Devils have been linked with a number of players in recent weeks, but have almost had their hands tied by the uncertainty over Pogba and Lukaku's futures. Why spend big-money on Sergej Milinkovic-Savic when you already have Pogba? It is why Allardyce is right in urging the club to sort the mess out as soon as possible so that United can plan ahead, either with them or without them.