Manchester United ‘hoping’ to secure ‘long-term contracts’ for rejuvenated duo
Manchester United reportedly want to extend the contracts of defender Diogo Dalot and forward Marcus Rashford.
Both players are out of contract in less than 12 months.
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Dalot was linked with a move to Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma last summer before establishing himself as the club’s first-choice right-back under Ralf Rangnick.
His form has been bad news for Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who can’t get a sniff in the Premier League or Europa League despite costing the Red Devils £50million in 2019.
The Portuguese defender didn’t look like he had much of a future at Old Trafford after a difficult debut season.
He was sent on loan to AC Milan in June 2021, where he had a decent spell.
Dalot was used very sparingly under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer before he was sacked last November.
After featuring for 89 minutes across four fixtures in Manchester United’s opening 12 league encounters before Solskjaer’s sacking, Dalot played the full 90 minutes of 19 games with Rangnick in charge.
The 23-year-old is now 100 per cent the undisputed starter in his position under new boss Erik ten Hag having started all eight competitive matches this term.
Ten Hag’s side will also negotiate terms with Rashford, the report adds.
They will look to have a deal wrapped up for both players ‘in the coming months’.
Rashford is another player who has recently picked up their form and is being rewarded with consistent game time.
Last campaign was the 24-year-old’s toughest since breaking into the Manchester United first team in 2016.
He struggled for form throughout the entirety of 2021/22 and saw himself fall out of favour under Rangnick.
After recovering from a shoulder problem at the start of the season, Rashford scored five goals in 32 matches across all competitions as his side finished the campaign trophyless for the fifth year in a row.
His start to 22/23 has been fantastic, however.
After six Premier League games, Rashford has three goals, one shy of his 21/22 tally which he amassed over 25 top-flight appearances.
Rashford’s form has given Gareth Southgate something to think about after the United forward was dumped from his England squad.
But for another injury sustained before the current international break, the 24-year-old would have been expected to return to the Three Lions setup.
He has definitely played himself back into contention for this winter’s World Cup in Qatar but will not have the opportunity to impress Southgate against Italy and Germany in the Nations League this month.
Rashford and Dalot could be free agents next summer if they do not agree new terms with United.
However, the former is believed to have a one-year extension option in his current contract.
Rashford was linked with a move to French champions Paris Saint-Germain in the summer, although that proved to be a classic case of transfer window b******s.