Major Man Utd defensive deal close as Fabrizio Romano reveals Ten Hag talks are underway over another

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has instructed the club to open new contract negotiations for Victor Lindelof with the Sweden defender seemingly convincing the Dutchman he is worthy of a long-term stay – while a second star is also soon expected to sign on the dotted line.

Ten Hag is expected to pretty active in the January transfer window with plans very much underway to strengthen Manchester United‘s struggling squad. Despite forking out around £175m over the summer, the Red Devils have gone backwards this season with none of their four major summer arrivals having an impact.

The big concern for Ten Hag is over a lack of goals with United’s current tally of 18 the joint second lowest in the entirity of the Premier League this season.

As a result, Ten Hag plans to fix that at the first opportunity and has opened talks with three different striker options.

However, United’s first deals of the January window could come internally with transfer expert Fabrizio Romano confirming talks are underway to lock down Lindelof to a bumper new deal.

The Swede first joined United in the Jose Mourinho era, the centre-half costing a fee that ultimately reached £39m (€45m) once add-ons were factored in.

Now in his seventh season at United, Lindelof fell out of favour under Ten Hag during the Dutchman’s first season at the helm, with Raphael Varane and Harry Maguire established as his first-choice pairing.

However, Lindelof has now played his way back into favour, appearing 18 times in all competitions this season and becoming a trusted member of Ten Hag’s side.

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Lindelof in talks over new Man Utd deal with Wan-Bissaka to follow

His current deal expires in the summer and while United do have an option to extend that by 12 months, Romano has confirmed Ten Hag has instructed the club to open talks over a new long-term deal.

That situation is replicated by Aaron Wan-Bissaka down to a new deal too. Like Lindelof, he initially fell out of favour under Ten Hag but has played his way back into his manager’s thoughts with some stellar displays when called upon.

His deal also expires next summer, but rather than simply triggering a 12-month option, he too could be rewarded with a long-term stay.

Providing an insight into their situations, Romano told GIVEMESPORT: “With Lindelof, 100%. They want Lindelof to be part of the project in the present and future, so I’m sure they will try to proceed as soon as possible.

“At the moment, a new deal for Wan-Bissaka is still being discussed because they wanted to offer him a long-term contract and not just trigger the option.

“It is similar to what they did with Diogo Dalot less than a year ago. They had a chance to trigger the option, but they decided to offer him a longer contract. The conversations are ongoing with Wan-Bissaka.”

Man Utd to trigger more contract extensions

United may also yet trigger a similar option for the divisive Anthony Martial, to ensure they do not lose the forward as a free agent next summer.

Martial is now in his ninth season at Old Trafford and has been linked with PSG, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid.

Long-term he is not seen as one Ten Hag has come to rely on, but an option on his deal could be triggered for business reasons.

And it could be a similar situation too with Hannibal Mejbri, who has finally broken through this season after signing from Monaco in summer 2019.

Lindelof, meanwhile, has made 249 appearances for United in total, scoring four goals.

Wan-Bissaka has played 173 times, netting twice.

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