Saturday 15 September 2018 09:17, UK
Jose Mourinho is "hopeful" David De Gea, Luke Shaw, Juan Mata, Ander Herrera and Ashley Young will extend their Manchester United contracts.
Sky Sports News understands United are confident De Gea will extend his deal following Real Madrid's signing of Thibaut Courtois in the summer. The club have an option to extend De Gea's contract, which expires in the summer of 2019, by a further year.
United triggered similar clauses in the remaining quartet's deals last term and Mourinho has expressed his desire to prolong their stays, with the players free to negotiate moves away from January when they enter the final six months of their contracts.
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Mourinho, who forgot to mention Young by name, compared the situation to that of Marouane Fellaini last season - which was resolved with the Belgian international signing a new contract, keeping him at the club until 2020.
"I hope they will stay," said Mourinho, when asked about the futures of Shaw, Mata, Herrera and Young.
"We had a similar conversation last season about Marouane Fellaini and I was always saying, 'I hope he stays, I believe he will stay,' and I say the same thing - I hope they stay.
"I'm happy with the players, David [De Gea] is David, no need for more words. Luke Shaw's evolution makes us believe that he is going in the right direction - I want to keep him.
"Juan Mata and Ander Herrera, even if they are not playing a lot or if they are not starting matches, by the character point of view and by what they represent in the modern society in football they are almost unique pieces that I also don't want to lose."
Shaw, speaking while on international duty with England in September, said Mourinho had made it clear he wanted him to stay at Old Trafford during the summer.
Young has started once this season, with Mourinho favouring Shaw in the opening four games of the season.
However, Young could feature in Saturday's game against former club Watford after Mourinho said he "didn't know" if Shaw would play after he suffered a concussion with England.
"I don't know (if he'll play)," Mourinho said. "We still have a training session.
"Contrary to some news, by the protocol point of view and according to our doctor he will be free to play.
"The only situation we have to analyse is if we are going to play him when during the week he was not training with the team, or if, even so, we decide to play him."
Mata and Herrera have featured in two games this season, with Herrera only starting once.
