Man Utd U-turn: Unwanted star set for five-year deal

Robin Bairner

• 6 Feb 2023 08:21 GMT
• 3 min read

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is in the midst of a significant overhaul of the club’s playing staff – but the former Ajax head coach has shown that he is not against changing his mind on a player.

Ten Hag added significantly to Man Utd’s pool last summer by adding the likes of Lisandro Martinez, Christian Eriksen, Casemiro and Antony to his ranks, and while this stalled in January, when only loan additions were permitted by the board, it is expected that the facelift will continue in the summer.

Naturally, this means that numerous players will be allowed to leave, with the manager having already earmarked several stars who will be shown the exit door.

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One of those who will be retained, however, is set to be Diogo Dalot, according to reports in Mundo Deportivo.

When Ten Hag took command at Man Utd in the summer of 2022, the Portugal right-back was widely expected to be one of the players who would be dumped along with Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

However, a string of solid performances have not only won the manager over for this season, but for the future, too.

It is reported that Dalot is “close” to signing a new five-year deal at Old Trafford that will keep him at the club until 2028. His current deal expires in 2024 after United trigger a one-year option on his existing deal in December.

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Dalot's Barcelona link

Dalot is not without options either. The 23-year-old had been strongly linked with a possible summer move to Barcelona, who are in dire need in that position.

His decision to re-sign with Man Utd clearly takes him out of the equation at Camp Nou due to their financial issues and will force them to look for another option – probably someone at low cost or another free agent.

Dalot has played 23 times for Man Utd under Ten Hag, scoring one goals and creating two more.