Manchester United have extended the contracts of Daley Blind and Ashley Young by another year according to reports. It is believed that the Red Devils bosses exercised their rights to extend the contracts by one year to keep the players at Old Trafford.
Daley Blind is versatile and stylish Dutch player who can play in multiple positions. He is naturally a left wing-back but can be deployed as a fullback, a centre back or even a central midfielder if his team needs him to.
He is mature and dependent on his style of play with a sweet left foot to strike. He rose to prominence in the 2014 FIFA World Cup under Dutchman Louis Van Gaal and is famously remembered for the unbelievable cross he laid for Robin Van Persie’s flying goal.
He made his move to Manchester United from Holland the same summer when Louis Van Gaal was appointed United boss. Since then he has constantly been a part of every United team playing in multiple positions.
However, with competition in his spot increasing with the likes of Luke Shaw, Matteo Darmian and Ashley Young all playing at left back, first team chances have dried up for him this season. He has been left out more often than not. Blind has made only 15 appearances for the club this season and will be pondering his future after his extension was triggered.
He is still only 27 years old but turns 28 next week. He is at the peak age of his footballing career and would like to play more often than he has been. He is currently being kept out by Ashley Young who also got a year’s extension. This would mean that the situation be more or similar and Blind will have to carve out his own path.
Moreover, even if Young does falter, Blind is not even the second choice at United. It is Luke Shaw who will be called over. Shaw’s career developed in Southampton and he became not only a regular first-team player but a star with the Saints. He was developed and became a player of great potential under the then Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino.
He promised a great future at Old Trafford but recurring injuries forced him out of the side and stagnated his career. He has now been at Old Trafford and has not played a single full season. Things look different in the last few months with Shaw warming up to take his left-back spot.
This would indeed leave Blind in a conundrum and the Dutch star must be wary of a bleak future at United.
