Manchester United continue to try and tie up the futures of several key men - including Marcus Rashford.
The Red Devils received a boost this week when Luke Shaw penned an extension that will take his years of service to beyond a decade. Erik ten Hag will now turn his attention to retaining other members of his squad with Rashford, David de Gea and Fred among those whose contracts are winding down.
Rashford has enjoyed the best season of his career but, at 25, the player wants to make sure this deal reflects his importance and value as he heads into his peak years. There is strong interest from PSG, but United are keen not to force a decision out of the forward and are prepared to be patient.
The forward's preference is to remain at Old Trafford and the club are drafting an offer that would put Rashford among their highest earners. De Gea himself is currently a top earner on the red half of Manchester and wants to stay at the club.
He has accepted however that he will have to take a pay cut on the mammoth deal he signed back in 2019. Both Fred and Diogo Dalot have made it known that they want to stay with the team, which they have communicated publicly and privately.
Ten Hag has told Sky Sports on the futures of the quartet: "We want to keep them and so we offer them contracts, but now we have to - John (Murtough) and me - with the agents of the players get agreements. I hope we do it on the short notice because that keeps composure, that gives a rest for the players as well.
"Then they know where we are together. For the players and for me, we are in the season and we are unified, we are together in this team, and there's a great team spirit which we need because we only play finals now at this stage."
United's desire to keep some of their key assets goes alongside their want to bolster their forward options, which will take the goalscoring burden off of Rashford, who has been a leading light in the final third for the Red Devils.
Ten Hag wants to add a marquee No.9 in the summer having spent more than £200m bolstering other areas of his squad in his first transfer market. Harry Kane is their prime target as he enters the final 12 months of his deal, but it depends on how difficult Tottenham prove to be in negotiations.
Victor Osimhen at Napoli and Benfica's Goncalo Ramos, who scored a hat-trick at the World Cup, are also options for United if they cannot secure the England captain's services.
