It was a hectic first summer transfer window for new Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag as six new players walked through the doors at Carrington.
The summer splurge and the players brought in were expected considering the size of the rebuilding job undertaken by the Dutchman.
And the job is far from done as it will take a couple more windows to get the house in order considering how bloated and unbalanced the current squad is.
Apart from negotiating transfer deals, the club also needs to decide on the future of as many as 10 first-team stars whose contracts are expiring in 2023.
Contract situation
The contracts of all three goalkeepers — David de Gea, Tom Heaton and Martin Dubravka are ending in 2023.
The Slovakian is expected to return to Newcastle United while the futures of the remaining two remain up in the air, especially the United No 1’s.
In defence, first-team regulars such as Diogo Dalot, Luke Shaw will become free agents in 2023 while contracts are also ending for fringe stars such as Phil Jones and Axel Tuanzebe.
Midfielder Fred, attackers Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho are also set to become free agents next summer.
Erik ten Hag confirms Man United plan for players out of contract in June: “We are talking to them to extend contracts, but we have control because we have an option on all the players and we will exercise those options”. 🚨🔴 #MUFC
Rashford and Dalot will not leave for free. pic.twitter.com/k89KSBVzyf
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 11, 2022
Interestingly, with the exception of Tuanzebe and Garnacho, United have the option of triggering an additional year on their contract if they deem fit in a bid to protect their value.
And Ten Hag has indicated that the club will do exactly that and will refuse to let any player leave for free and will avoid giving foreign clubs a chance to poach their players.
ETH allays fears
“We are talking to them to extend contracts, but we have control because we have an option on all the players and we will exercise those options,” the manager said, as relayed by Fabrizio Romano.
While holding the option is a wise move, the club’s horrendous functioning has once again been laid bare with so many players finishing their contracts at the same time.
The likes of Dalot, Rashford, Shaw and Garnacho are essential to the way Ten Hag wants to operate and they have also received a lot of interest from other clubs.
Why the club did not act earlier is a logical question to have. Hopefully, the club can agree a long-term deal will the majority of these players as soon as possible.
