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Reports have emerged that Manchester United have offered defender Timothy Fosu-Mensah a new contract that will see him remain at Old Trafford.
The right-back had less than seven months to go until the expiration of his previous deal at the club. He would have been free to start discussing pre-contract agreements with potential suitors from January.
Fosu-Mensah trained in the Manchester United academy and made his first-team debut in 2016. However, the player has struggled to nail down a regular place, leading to loans out to the likes of Fulham and Crystal Palace.
Considering that he will turn 23 in January, many opined that the player's best option would be to seek playing time elsewhere. The arrival of Aaron Wan-Bissaka had pushed him further down the pecking order at Manchester.
However, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer seems to be impressed with the Netherlands international. This new deal will ensure the club gets a transfer fee if they eventually sell him, rather than lose him for free next summer.
The Manchester United manager was said to have been impressed by Fosu-Mensah's attitude in training prior to lockdown and rewarded him with a start in the Premier League clash against Crystal Palace in July. This was his United appearance in over three years, and he also made appearances in the FA Cup and Europa League.
The former Fulham man's initial contract with the Mancunians ran until May 2020 but the club opted for a one-year extension prior to the January transfer window.
This new contract extension could have an impact on fellow right-back Diogo Dalot's future at United. The former Porto man joined Manchester United in 2018 but has frequently been left out of the starting line-up before his loan move to AC Milan.
It has been much of the same at San Siro, with the Portuguese having made just one Serie A appearance to date. This will further limit his chances of proving himself and breaking into the team at Old Trafford.
Have Manchester United finally turned a corner after their indifferent start to the season?
Following their stunning run towards the end of last season, Manchester United ended the season trophyless. The manner in which they scraped into the top four represented an anti-climatic end to the campaign.
United's disastrous transfer activity last summer did little to lift spirits at the club and results on the field were equally dire.
However, after a poor start to the season, Manchester United seem to have found their rhythm and are well primed to finish top of their Champions League group. Bruno Fernandes, in particular, seems to be growing in stature with each passing week and fans of the club will hope that the whole team will continue to improve.
