Erik ten Hag has given an update regarding players that are out of contract next summer.
Several Manchester United players’ contracts are set to expire at the end of the 2022/2023 campaign. First-team members such as Diogo Dalot, Fred, Luke Shaw, David de Gea and Marcus Rashford are all on similar deals in which their contract has an additional year clause that can only be triggered by the club.
Cristiano Ronaldo is on a similar deal, however, there has to be a mutual agreement if he were to stay an extra year, which is undetermined at the moment given the forward’s lack of playing time.
Two players who could be released by the club are Phil Jones and Axel Tuanzebe due to the defenders’ injury history.
Academy players Teden Mengi and Ethan Laird may be offered new deals as they continue to impress, especially Laird, who is gaining valuable experience at Championship level on a season-long loan with Queens Park Rangers.
Ten Hag has his say:
Regarding contract renewals at the club giving players an incentive to play for, Ten Hag told MUTV: “It’s something from the head, some players get motivated when they play for a contract, if you mean that, but it’s not that. Why we handle it like this is we want to restore Man United, we want to develop the squad, develop the team, bring everything to a better level.
“We work the way we play, we work on the culture and we need, of course, quality players who are highly motivated. Such players, we are looking for, and luckily, we have them in the squad and I am quite happy with the squad, the way they work, the motivation, they all have [it], and I think the cooperation is quite good.”
