Manchester United are negotiating a new deal for Victor Lindelöf, report Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet.
Lindelöf is now into his third season at United, and he has established himself as a key player, since joining in 2017 for £31 million.
The contract extension could be in response to reported interest from Barcelona in the summer, reported by Mundo Deportivo.
Lindelöf shut down the rumours, telling the MEN: “I’m very very happy to be a Manchester United player and I’m really looking forward to this season.”
Smart timing
United have not always got the timing of contract negotiations right in recent years over key players.
David de Gea is dangerously close to being able to leave on a free next summer, and Luke Shaw was in a similar scenario last year.
Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford both also came to within just over 12 months of their deals expiring.
And we talked about Angel Gomes’ worrying situation yesterday. His deal runs out in 2020.
Lindelöf is a key part of United’s new look back four, but his contract runs out first.
His current deal including an option to extend by a year keeps him until 2022.
By comparison, Luke Shaw is under contract to 2024, Aaron Wan-Bissaka to 2024, and Harry Maguire to 2025.
It is smart to negotiate with Lindelöf now, while he is happy and playing a key role, and push his contract expiry date to 2025 too.
This will give United’s backline great long security, and with Lindelöf only 25, it’s not an over-commitment.
After overcoming his first season wobble, Lindelöf has impressed and his new partnership with Harry Maguire is seen as the cornerstone of United’s future success.
Getting his contract extended and topping up his wages to keep him happy should be win-win.
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