Manchester United

Manchester United 'hopeful Jose Mourinho exit will lead to contract extensions'

By Barney Corkhill, EditorPublished: 19 December 2018 11:40 PM

Man Utd 'hopeful Mourinho exit will lead to new deals'

Manchester United are reportedly hopeful that the departure of Jose Mourinho will prompt a number of first-team players to sign new contracts at the club.

Manchester United are reportedly hopeful that Jose Mourinho's departure from the club will prompt a string of first-team players to sign new contract extensions.

Mourinho parted company with the 20-time champions of England yesterday following their worst-ever start to a Premier League season, which left them 19 points off the top of the table.

The Mirror reports that uncertainty over Mourinho's future - and a lack of belief in the manager - had led to a number of players stalling over committing their futures to the club.

The likes of Juan Mata, Ashley Young and Ander Herrera are all set to be out of contract next summer, while United have been forced to activate 12-month options in the contracts of David de Gea and Anthony Martial in order to keep them until 2020.

Marcus Rashford and Eric Bailly's deals also expire in 2020, while in the more distant future Paul Pogba's contract is set to run out in 2021.

The club are hopeful that Mourinho's sacking will remove an element of uncertainty in negotiations, and they now plan to make contract talks their priority over the coming months.

The Red Devils are also planning to enter the January transfer market despite interim boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer only being in charge until the end of the season, with Ed Woodward set to hand him £50m to spend next month.