Manchester United Surprisingly Offer Contract Extension To Rarely Used Defender: Report

Manchester United, in a surprise move, have reportedly offered a new contract to rarely used defender Timothy Fosu-Mensah.

Fosu-Mensah's current deal with Manchester United is due to expire in 2021 and the defender can begin his negotiations with other clubs in January ahead of his free transfer. However, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer still has a lot of faith in Fosu-Mensah, who has been handed a contract extension despite making only 29 appearances for the Red Devils since his first-team debut five years ago, as reported by soccer website Teamtalk.

In April, Manchester United used their option to extend Fosu-Mensah's contract by a year, and Solskjaer looks to be willing to once again show faith in the Dutchman. Fosu-Mensah was linked with a permanent move away from the former Premier League champions at the summer window, but the player eventually stayed at Old Trafford.

The Teamtalk report has also stated that Solskjaer has been impressed with Fosu-Mensah's attitude in training since the start of 2020. With Diogo Dalot currently on loan at Milan, Manchester United may well keep the right-back in their squad.

The 22-year-old defender, who also plays as a defensive midfielder, joined Manchester United's academy in 2014 before making his senior debut in the 2015-16 campaign. The Netherlands player was then sent to Crystal Palace and Fulham on loan stints before he returned to Old Trafford in 2019. Since his return to Manchester United, Fosu-Mensah has played only eight matches, making four starts. His most recent appearance came as a substitute in the first Champions League game against Istanbul Basaksehir, which the Red Devils lost in Turkey.

It is understood that Manchester United are set to have a busy January transfer window. After failing to secure any of Solskjaer’s target signings at the summer transfer market, the Red Devils would want to make it up for the same in the winter window. It was earlier reported that while FC Barcelona’s forward Ousmane Dembele continues to remain a loan target of Solskjaer, the Norwegian manager is still keen on bringing Jadon Sancho to Old Trafford.