Manchester United triggers one-year contract extension for four players, confirms Ten Hag

Manchester United’s Brazilian midfielder Fred waves to fans at the end of the English League Cup fourth-round football match between Manchester United and Burnley, at Old Trafford, in Manchester, on December 21, 2022. Fred is among four players whom Manchester United triggered the one-year contract extension for, on December 24, 2022. File
| Photo Credit: AFP

Manchester United has triggered one-year contract extensions for four first-team players, including England forward Marcus Rashford, manager Erik ten Hag said.

Rashford, Diogo Dalot, Fred, and Luke Shaw were all in the final year of their deals but had the option to extend their contracts by 12 months.

Rashford has rediscovered his form this season under new boss Ten Hag, playing 20 matches in all competitions and scoring nine goals. Dalot, Fred and Shaw have also been heavily involved, each making more than 15 appearances in all competitions.

“Yes, I can confirm it,” Ten Hag told the club’s website in an excerpt from an interview to be published on Tuesday.

“We are happy because the squad is going in the right direction and those players (have) a massive contribution in that direction. We want to develop, we want to support those players and we want them to keep in our process.

“So, that’s why we came to those decisions, I’m sure they are the right decisions. We want to construct a team for the future, so for longer years, and those players have to be part of it.”

Goalkeeper David de Gea, who is also in the last year of his contract and has a similar option for an extension, is yet to come to an agreement with the club. Ten Hag said in October he hoped the Spaniard would stay on at Old Trafford.

United, who are fifth in the Premier League standings, next face 18th-placed Nottingham Forest.