Fabrizio Romano guarantees Erik ten Hag ‘really pushing’ for vital Man Utd attacker deal that board can’t afford to miss out on

The January transfer window is rapidly coming, and Manchester United must address the state of their offense. They have a void up front after releasing Cristiano Ronaldo. There are various possibilities for filling it.

Ten Hag, for example, is eager to re-enter the Eredivisie in order to recruit Cody Gakpo from PSV Eindhoven. Adding the winger would provide him with another option in the closing third.

Keeping hold of the player’s Ten Hag wants to build his team around is just as vital as bringing in new recruits.

Marcus Rashford, for example, has been facing an uncertain future as the end of his contract approaches. His contract was set to expire in June 2023, but Romano recently revealed that Manchester United had used their option to extend it until 2024.

They will obviously not be finished there. Now, Romano has provided an update on what Man United wants next for the 25-year-old, as well as how highly his manager regards him.

“I can assure you that behind the scenes in private, in his discussions with Manchester United board, Erik ten Hag is pressing as an obsession, of course, positive obsession, to extend Marcus Rashford’s contract,” Romano claimed on his YouTube channel.

“In the previous few days, Manchester United exercised the option to extend his contract from 2023 to 2024. So Rashford is not going to be a free agent this summer.

Ten Hag unlikely to find a replacement for Marcus Rashford “However, Erik ten Hag wants Marcus Rashford to sign a new long-term contract.

“He thinks that it’s going to be incredibly tough for Man Utd to find another player like Rashford on the market, that it’s a tremendous opportunity to have a jewel-like Rashford inside the club.

“He had a rough season last year but then Erik ten Hag arrived and since day one he had a talk with Rashford, he informed Rashford how essential he was in his project for Man Utd.

“So Erik ten Hag believes Rashford is a good talent for the present and future and he doesn’t want Manchester United to miss on this contract extension.

“He understands how vital it is to maintain the player, how important it is to have a long-term contract since 2024 implies no difficulty this summer but a potential problem in a year.

“So this is why Man Utd will have conversations with the agents of Rashford. ‘We’ll give him a new long-term deal.’

“However, Erik ten Hag is really pushing. He understands how vital it is for Manchester United to keep Rashford because many prominent clubs in Europe are aware of his contract status. Ten Hag is trying hard because he knows he might be a huge free agent in the summer of 2024.

“He believes [it] incredibly crucial to have Marcus Rashford committed to a new long-term agreement with Manchester United. So this is extremely crucial. Rashford and Manchester United will talk about a new deal.

“However, this is Erik ten Hag’s prime focus. It’s similar to a fresh signing.

“And last summer, when PSG approached it, people close to Marcus Rashford, Erik ten Hag was quite explicit with [the] Man Utd board. ‘It’s not about replacing. Marcus Rashford must remain at Manchester United. He has to be one of the project’s faces.’

“So Ten Hag is putting pressure on this one.”

Man United will be expecting swift movement on any further amended terms now that the immediate strain of losing Rashford in the new year has passed.

This season, he has nine goals from 20 appearances in all competitions for the club.