Manchester United have extended the contracts of four players by another 12 months. As reported in the media, Marcus Rashford, Luke Shaw, Diogo Dalot, and Fred have had one more year added to their current deals. It means they will stay at the club until June 2024.
These four players have been regulars in the first team since the arrival of Erik Ten Hag. He told the United website in an interview earlier this month he would like to see Rashford sign a new long-term deal.
Rashford has been linked with a move to Paris St Germain in recent weeks. He is United’s leading goalscorer this season with eight goals across all competitions. At the World Cup in Qatar, he netted three goals as well. Rashford is finding his best form again and could extend his stay beyond 2024.
New deals have to be earned
When Ten Hag arrived at the club, he put all contract talks on hold taking the view that they had to earn the right to have a new deal. By keeping Rashford, Shaw, Dalot, and Fred it shows that the manager wants to keep them for the immediate future with one eye on the long-term.
It had been reported by the Guardian that Ten Hag had been willing to let Fred leave the club on a free transfer in the summer. It is imperative that the club sort out the long-term future of these players. Next year United will not have that option to trigger an extension and the players will be able to negotiate with other clubs.
United have approached these contract talks in a more cautious way this time around. The club in recent years has handed contracts to players that should have probably moved on with Eric Bailly extending his contract by another three years in 2021, and Phil Jones still under contract until June 2023.
DAVID DE GEA FUTURE REMAINS UNRESOLVED
It has been reported that United are unwilling to extend David De Gea’s contract by another year. His current deal sees him being paid £375,000 a week. In January, De Gea would be free to talk with other clubs and sign a pre-contract agreement. The 32-year-old said previously he wants to stay at Old Trafford. His game has improved under Ten Hag but the manager could bring in a new goalkeeper of his choosing during the summer transfer window.
