Man Utd boss reveals which player he believes will be an “excellent coach” - and confirms contract discussions

Manchester United boss Marc Skinner is preparing his side for their second appearance of the season at Old Trafford this weekend, with Paul Konchesky’s West Ham the visitors this coming Saturday.

And while many first time fans will be looking forward to watching the likes of Ella Toone, Alessia Russo and Mary Earps in a Women’s Super League game, the United head coach pinpointed Hayley Ladd as a player that he believes has shone brightly for his side this season - and revealed why he thinks she will also be a perfect coach in the future.

“Having her at Birmingham, I always saw these qualities within her” said Skinner.

“What you don’t always see is her tactical brain, she’s learning to try and be a coach off the field and I think she will be an excellent coach in the future. When we’re talking about the growth of women’s football - the growth of the next generation of female coaches within the sport - I think Hayley will be an excellent one for that.”

Ladd, who has been a key figure in the United engine room alongside captain Katie Zelem sees her current contract expire come the end of this season, however, Skinner revealed the club are already in discussions with the Wales international over extending her stay in Manchester.

“I think we have a year option on Hayley so we’re looking at that and we’re looking re-negotiating with Hayley as well. I think she has been excellent this season. Hayley is progressing and getting better as she gets older. She’s a really important part of what we do, a real solid foundation for us to build our attacking qualities from but Hayley also has a lot of qualities with the ball.

“We are looking at potentially extending her as well and those conversations will continue”.

The head coach, who turns 40 tomorrow, also confirmed January signing Jayde Riviere could make her first Manchester United appearance in this weekend’s showcase game at the Theatre of Dreams with the Canadian making progress with her fitness. The news was not as positive though for both Lisa Naalsund and Maria Thorisdóttir, who it has been confirmed will both miss the game after picking up injuries in the FA Cup win over Lewes.

“We don’t yet have that update (injuries to both players) but we will have it later this morning. I imagine both players will miss this weekend. The players were in for treatment the last two days so I’m hopeful we can see where we’re at with them this morning when we have our medical meeting.

“Jayde has been training for weeks, she trained with the team the last part of the week and looked excellent. Hopefully she will be in contention for the weekend.