Michael Carrick is restoring the old guard at Man Utd, many of whom were Glazer-era signings, but only one player is also being positioned as the face of the Ineos era as well.
The likes of Bruno Fernandes, Harry Maguire, Casemiro, Luke Shaw, and more have all played a crucial role under Ineos, but there’s one thing that they haven’t been given.
None of those players has been positioned as the building block of the future of Man Utd, partly due to their age, and partly due to their performances.
Should Harry Maguire get a contract extension beyond the 2025/26 season?
The one anomaly to this line of thinking lies in the 2030 contract, as Ineos have identified a single survivor from the previous regime who’s also going to be a mainstay for their regime.
Ineos are all-in on Amad
Take a look through the list of contracts at Man Utd, and Amad stands out immediately.
He is the only player signed before 2024 (pre-Ineos) who currently has a contract until 2030 to take him to the next decade.
Others with a 2030 contract are all new signings made in the summer, or Patrick Dorgu, also signed by Ineos.
Amad is not the only player signed under the Glazers to receive a contract extension under Ineos, as Fernandes also received one, but he’s the only one they’ve gone all-in on.
Ineos were ready to sell Fernandes last summer, so that extension was clearly more about protecting his value instead of seeing him as a lynchpin (that’s probably changed now!).
The same goes for the likes of Mason Mount, Shaw, Maguire, and more, as all of them will have an “impress or release” scenario when their contract nears expiry.
That’s not the case with Amad, who’s the only pre-Ineos survivor to also get the new regime’s ultimate stamp of approval.
He’s the 2030 anomaly in the current Man Utd squad.
Diogo Dalot and Kobbie Mainoo could join Amad
Looking at the contract situation at the time of writing, there are only two players in the current squad who could join Amad as the anomalies.
Diogo Dalot’s contract expires in 2028, and his value to the team lies in more than just his performances on the pitch, so he might get an extension eventually.
Even then, his performances might not merit it, especially if United get a good offer for him.
The case is slightly different for Kobbie Mainoo, as Man Utd fans would argue that he should have already been standing alongside Amad as the carrier of the United torch in the next decade.
His contract expires in 2027, and after the Ruben Amorim disaster, talks should restart to extend his stay at Old Trafford.
However, even if (when) he signs that extension, Ineos won’t be able to shake off the asterisk that they were willing to sell him last summer for just £40m.
That makes Amad the only player who was here before Ineos arrived, and immediately proved himself as a building block for the long term for the new regime.
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