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Manchester United defender Sonny Aljofree is set to extend his contract at Old Trafford, as per Fabrizio Romano.
Heading into the Community Shield clash against Manchester City this weekend, Erik ten Hag has potentially only three fit senior defenders—Lisandro Martínez, Jonny Evans, and Diogo Dalot—at his disposal.
Having already signed Leny Yoro, who is also out injured, United are keen on adding Matthijs de Ligt to their ranks. However, it is understood their pursuit of the Bayern Munich star is in jeopardy.
Amid the defensive crisis at hand, United have recently made a promising move to address the area, albeit they are unlikely to see the impact of that decision at first-team level imminently.
According to Romano, academy centre-back Aljofree is set to sign a new deal, with an agreement already in place over a three year contract, valid until June 2027.
🚨🔴 Excl: Manchester United U21 captain Sonny Aljofree set to sign new deal at the club.
Agreement in place over deal valid until June 2027, three year contract.
Talks at final stages for the talented centre back. pic.twitter.com/vQe8nAY9yg
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 9, 2024
The transfer expert adds that talks are at the final stages for Plymouth-born talent. The 19-year-old only signed his first professional contract in May of 2023.
The U21 captain was involved in United’s pre-season friendly against Rosenborg earlier this summer.
However, the promising defender was not named in Ten Hag’s travelling squad for the pre-season tour to the USA.
United have shown their faith in Aljofree by handing him a new contract, but his exclusion from the tour squad suggests he still has a long way to go before Ten Hag considers him an option for his senior setup.
Interestingly, Aljofree came close to making his debut for United in March of last season.
Ahead of United’s FA Cup clash against Liverpool, Ten Hag faced an injury crisis in defence. According to The Sun, the Dutchman would have liked to use the player, who “might even have started” the high-profile game.
However, he was ineligible for selection for the first team having been on a joint registration deal with National League side Altrincham at the time.
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