United To Take Advantage Of Contract Clauses And Secure FOUR Deals
Reuters / Phil Noble
Contract clauses have increasingly become backdoor strategies for clubs to escape into. While release clauses have become the more popular option, what with big money transfers always being part of the bargain, clauses don’t always have to give cause to worry for parent clubs.
Manchester United are the prime examples of this, as shown by their repeated use of the one-year extension clauses that they have made it a point to include in the contracts of nearly all their new signings since 2014. And now, they are all set to utilise them.
As per Telegraph, the Red Devils will activate the 12-month extension clauses set in the contracts of Juan Mata, Ander Herrera, Ashley Young, and Daley Blind.
They have already done the same this season in the form of Luke Shaw. In case of the young defender, it is definitely a clever ploy on the part of the club, so as to try and retain some of the £28 million they paid for the youngster whilst signing him from Southampton.
Further, doing the same for Spaniards Mata and Herrera is crucial too. The latter was named the club’s Player of the Year last season, but has seen a miserly run of games so far this campaign. Regardless, he is still a talented midfielder, and is bound to fetch a decent sum should any club come knocking, rather than leave for free.
Reuters / Jason Cairnduff
Mata has been attracting interest from the La Liga, and the move to extend will ensure that Mourinho won’t have to worry about potentially letting him go till well into the coming summer. Despite the faltering performances of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Mata hasn’t been given the starting spot all too often by the former Chelsea man, who incidentally also sold the player during his second stint at Stamford Bridge.
As for Ashley Young, who over the weeks has become United’s first choice left-back, and has been in terrific form in addition to being recalled to the English national team, any extension will be a welcome one. At 32, he will be hoping to give all he can to the club.
The same cannot be said of Daley Blind, whose seeming importance to the side is reducing season by season. However, the 27-year-old is a very versatile player, and can still be a potential pawn for United in minor fixtures.
Written by Naveen Kelvin 
A writer trying to craft the poetry within football. Purpose in life is to Make Good Art.