Paul Pogba, Jose Mourinho or Ed Woodward …Who will win the power struggle at Manchester United?

From the pitch to the boardroom, the tensions at Old Trafford are being played out in plain sight.

Victory at Burnley just before the international break may have eased the pressure during the vacuum of two weeks without domestic football - but the issues at the heart of Manchester United’s troubles firmly remain.

Paul Pogba’s ritual attempts to keep himself in the shop window continued from the sanctuary of the France squad this week, as the midfielder refused to rule out his imminent departure.

Executive vice chairman Ed Woodward, meanwhile, has been the subject of the most focused challenge to his position yet after supporters hired a plane to fly above Turf Moor in protest against his transfer failings.

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And then there is Jose Mourinho, front and centre, as he faces the first genuine crisis of his United career.

With tensions between star player and manager - issues between manager and board - who will come out on top?

Paul Pogba

In the week when he was named the most marketable sports personality in the world by one magazine, Pogba cast fresh doubt over his United future.

His interview with Sky Sports Germany ensured his relationship with Mourinho would remain the focus of scrutiny - even at a time when his manager has extended an olive branch.

Declaring “who knows what will happen in the next few months,” Pogba made it clear he is happy for his position to be an on-going subject of debate.

That has pushed the patience of supporters to the brink, with large numbers taking to social media to round on the World Cup winner.

It represents a significant shift in attitude in the space of only a matter of months.

Mourinho was fiercely criticised for his treatment of Pogba when dropping the £89m man in the second half of last season, with fans accusing him of failing to get the best out of his star man.

At that point the narrative was of a player being mishandled and a manager stifling talent.

Now it is Pogba feeling the ire.

His languid run up before missing a penalty against Burnley typified what can be so frustrating about one of the stand out performers of the World Cup.

It should not be underestimated how influential he is in the dressing room - particularly among the younger members of Mourinho’s squad.

Pogba also remains truly valued by United’s hierarchy, as well as investors on the New York Stock Exchange - and SportsPro magazine’s marketability rankings are emphatic endorsement of his worth to the club.

Woodward has repeatedly referenced Pogba’s lure on social media, as well as his raw shirt-selling power, in his regular financial updates.

United feel they are just at the beginning of their digital growth, with a new website and phone app launched in recent months and plans to move into the on-demand television sphere dominated by Netflix and Amazon.

That requires star appeal - and no one has more than Pogba at United.

Player power has never been so easy to measure, with Juventus gaining over five million followers on their social media channels following the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer.

Real Madrid, meanwhile, experienced a drop.

United insist Pogba is not for sale, regardless of interest from Barcelona - although there are concerns the 25-year-old’s increasingly public shows of unrest could force the issue.

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Ed Woodward

In so many ways Woodward was the chief executive United fans had been crying out for.

After years of bemoaning the club’s failure to compete for the biggest names - and growing tired of Sir Alex Ferguson’s claims of ‘no value in the market’ - Woodward has been only too willing to splash the cash.

Pogba was a world record signing.

Before him, Juan Mata and Angel di Maria were club record signings.

Luke Shaw and Anthony Martial were the most expensive teenagers in history, respectively.

Meanwhile Woodward pulled the plug on David Moyes’ reign with haste - just as supporters demanded.

When the tide turned against Louis van Gaal, the Dutchman was shown the door - and few complained when Mourinho was subsequently appointed.

Woodward has heavily backed his managers in the transfer market - even if not at the same rate as Manchester City’s Abu Dhabi owners.

Which is why it came as such a surprise when he turned off the tap this summer.

Mourinho went into the transfer window expecting to sign a world class centre back and right winger capable of turning his team into Premier League champions.

Woodward’s assessment that players like Toby Alderweireld, Harry Maguire and Ivan Perisic did not represent value has caused the most serious source of friction between he and Mourinho since they began working together.

And it is a growing theme.

Mourinho was happy to sell Martial in the summer - Woodward wants to tie the Frenchman down to a long-term contract.

Football decisions are increasingly being made at board level - prompting Mourinho to claim he should be retitled as United’s head coach.

The appointment of sporting director will effectively confirm the change to United’s operations - and it remains to be seen how the Portuguese manager will react.

As far as fans are concerned, Woodward in the problem.

The protest at Burnley reflected the growing feeling among a section of supporters that United have failed to invest sufficiently to stop City from dominating domestically.

But Woodward is very much the Glazers’ man.

The club’s American owners continue to reap the rewards of his spectacular commercial prowess.

In the same week as United were beaten 3-0 at home to Tottenham, their shares reached record highs.

That is not by accident.

Woodward continues to find new ways to exploit the club’s marketability, which continues to keep investors happy.

His job may be the safest of anyone’s at Old Trafford.

Jose Mourinho

Too much is made of Mourinho’s so-called ‘third season syndrome.’

It’s worth remembering he won the title and the Champions League in his third year at Porto, the FA Cup and League Cup in the third season of his first spell at Chelsea.

Even still, the opening weeks of the campaign have felt like a ‘classic Mourinho meltdown.’

His miserable mood during United’s tour of the US set the tone for what has followed.

But time has only gone on to justify his gloomy demeanour.

He had no confidence he would land the players he believed were crucial to mounting a title challenge.

As the transfer window came and went, he warned of the consequences of failing to keep pace with City and Liverpool. And back-to-back defeats to Brighton and Tottenham again justified his fears.

In many ways, Mourinho has played a blinder.

His very public concerns have got the fans onside.

Standing and applauding the Stretford End after defeat to Spurs may well have been choreographed, but it did the trick.

For now, the supporters are with him and have sympathy with his transfer frustrations.

They are always likely to back a manager over a businessman, so in the battle for hearts and minds he was always going to win out over Woodward.

His attempts to play a more offensive brand of football haven’t done him any harm either.

In the case of Pogba, too, he has made a public attempt to smooth the way by making him captain and offering glowing praise of his attitude.

The player’s response, in contrast, has looked churlish and only served to turn fans against him.

Mourinho has always defined himself by the silverware he has won and the teams he’s produced - yet even on the back of a chaotic start to the season on the pitch, he has emerged from the turbulence within Old Trafford in the most favourable light.

And as far as the club’s hierarchy are concerned, he still retains their confidence to turn the campaign around.

But despite Mourinho’s claims over the past week that it would cost too much to sack him, he may still find himself the most expendable of the three key figures at the heart of United’s power struggle.

It would cost considerably more to lose Woodward or Pogba.