Ten Hag wants to keep the 5 pillars of Man Utd

Marcus Rashford, Luke Shaw, David de Gea, Fred and Diogo Dalot are first-team players with only six months remaining on their contracts with Man Utd. Among these, Ten Hag is still shy about the plan with De Gea. But activating a one-year extension will help Man Utd avoid losing the Spanish goalkeeper in the summer of 2023.

"We are negotiating to extend the contracts of these players," Ten Hag said at a press conference on December 12. "We are controlling the situation by the terms of the contract, and we will activate them."

Of the six players mentioned above, Ten Hag prioritized keeping Rashford. After a bad season, Rashford gradually regained his form when he was trusted by the coach, giving him the highest position in the attack. He currently has three assists and eight goals in 19 matches in all competitions, including four in the Premier League, three in the Europa League and one in the League Cup.

At the 2022 World Cup, Rashford scored three goals - England's best achievement, equal to Bukayo Saka - even as a substitute. However, the 25-year-old striker could not improve his performance because England lost 1-2 to France in the quarter-finals on December 10.

When asked about the possibility of keeping Rashford, Ten Hag replied: "I cannot answer this question. Rashford has to make a decision and the only thing we can do is show him this is the best club to go to. competition". The Dutch coach also said that the negotiation process also depends on the culture of the club, the way of working, playing, competition of Man Utd until the end of the season and financial issues.

Ten Hag also compared Rashford to Kylian Mbappe, when he has a strong point of speed and the ability to finish. "From the first moment, I realized the great potential of Rashford," he said. "In my opinion, to maximize this potential, Rashford needs to play behind the opponent's defense. Here, there is almost no better player than Rashford."

Currently, Man Utd has two players to participate in the 2022 World Cup semi-finals, Lisandro Martinez (Argentina) and Raphael Varane (France). The players who have just played in Qatar will be able to rest for about a week before returning to the army with the team.

Man Utd played unsuccessfully at this break, losing to Cadiz 2-4 and Betis 0-1. Ten Hag's teachers and students will return with a match against Burnley in the 1/8 round of the British League Cup on December 21.