Manchester United should take the ruthless option with Marcus Rashford contract

Manchester United have been determined to do things differently since the Ed Woodward era came to an end, with one of the worst excesses of that period being the way contracts were handed out to players who had done little to deserve them.

Woodward felt new deals protected a player's value, but in reality, they rewarded mediocrity and made it more difficult to move those players on given their increased wages.

United were a soft touch on contract extensions and that's a reputation they will want to shred. In Marcus Rashford, the new approach is already being put to the rest.

READ MORE: United stance on Rashford future amid PSG interest

Rashford's representatives met Paris St-Germain officials last week and the Ligue 1 champions have held a long-standing interest in the 24-year-old.

But the United academy graduate has a year remaining on his current contract - as well as a one-year option - and given the shortage of options available to Erik ten Hag in attack this season, there is no way a departure will be countenanced this summer.

United officials doubt an offer from PSG will emerge before the window shuts on September 1 and there is a feeling the meeting could be a tactic to try and move contract talks on. It's an approach regularly used by players and follows on from stories that Rashford was considering his future at the club in March.

The balancing act for United now is that Rashford has done little to earn a new contract and a pay rise. In fact, his form has fallen off a cliff.

He had some promising moments in pre-season but was disappointing again on the first day of the season and his long-term slump shows no sign of ending yet, despite the suspicion that he would benefit from Ten Hag's coaching.

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