Man Utd ‘prepare’ to offer contract to intriguing free agent as attention turns to new deals

Manchester United are locked in on Europe amid another Premier League postponement.

Erik ten Hag’s men saw their clash with Crystal Palace put back last week due to the death of the Queen.

And a police shortage has caused another postponement, with United’s clash with Leeds this weekend now set to be played on another date.

United will face Sherrif in the Europa League on Thursday, but as far as the Premier League is concerned, they will have to wait until October as things stand, due to the international break.

In the meantime, we have rounded up all the latest transfer news and rumours surrounding Old Trafford.

Arias offer

United are said to be set to offer a short-term contract to former Atletico Madrid defender Santiago Arias.

According to TeamTalk, the Ten Hag wants more competition for Diogo Dalot at full-back, despite the Portuguese enjoying a solid start to the season.

Arias, who is now 30, is available on a free transfer having seen his contract expire at Atletico Madrid over the summer.

The right-back spent the last two seasons of his Atleti career out on loan with Bayer Leverkusen and then Granada, leaving Atleti having only made 39 league appearances in three years.

He spent much of his career with PSV, racking up more than 120 league appearances, and he has also won 54 senior caps for Colombia.

He could now arrive at Old Trafford to add depth amid a lack of confidence in Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

Contract focus

Beyond Arias, United are said to be shifting their focus to handing out new contracts.

The Red Devils have a number of players with expiring deals, and according to the Manchester Evening News, those players will now come into focus.

It’s claimed Marcus Rashford, Luke Shaw, Diogo Dalot, David de Gea and Fred all have options within their contract, and United are set to extend them all by a further year, while they could also look to agree new deals with some.