Manchester United seek to extend defender's contract who was close to leaving - Reports

Manchester United are reportedly keen to use the option to extend Victor Lindelof's contract for another season.

The Swedish centre-back is on a contract that ends in June 2024 but according to the Daily Star (h/t FootballTransfers), the Red Devils want to keep him for another year. He was close to leaving the club before the start of the season.

A report by Football Insider in March stated that Manchester United wanted to sell both Lindelof and Harry Maguire in the summer. Both defenders, of course, ended up staying at the club, with the English giants making no new signings in the centre-back position.

Injuries to Lisandro Martinez, Raphael Varane and Sergio Reguilon did mean additional playing time for the Sweden international. He has featured in 10 games across competitions this season and played as an auxiliary left-back in the 2-1 league win against Brentford on 7 October.

Lindelof's experience and versatility are undoubtedly coming in handy for Erik ten Hag this term. The 29-year-old joined the club in 2017 from SL Benfica and has since made 241 appearances for the Red Devils.

However, the 20-time first-division champions are reportedly keen on selling him for £15 million in the upcoming transfer windows. An extension of his current contract would mean Manchester United will avoid losing him on a free transfer at the end of the season.

Juventus and AC Milan are reportedly keeping an eye on the former SL Benfica man.

---

Victor Lindelof is fine with competition at Manchester United

In an interview with Sky Sports in August after Manchester United's opening two games of the season, Victor Lindelof was asked about the competition for places under Erik ten Hag.

The Swede played the second half in the 1-0 opening-day win against Wolverhampton Wanderers but was an unused substitute in the 2-0 loss against Tottenham Hotspur. A few days after the game against Spurs, he said (h/t Manchester Evening News):

"I think it is great to have competition for places. We have talked about the level that I want to be at and at this level there should be competition for places, otherwise it is not right. We are playing at the biggest club in the world, so there should be players who are competing for different positions.

It is not a problem, I like it, and I think they [Varane and Martinez] have been playing great together... there are a lot of games in a season."

Lindelof has now started in all of his team's last five league games. He also played the full 90 minutes in the 3-2 UEFA Champions League group-stage loss against Galatasaray at Old Trafford on 3 October.