Manchester United are reportedly set to present Lee Grant with an unanticipated new contract, which would allow him to experience a fresh role in the club.
According to a report by the Daily Star, Manchester United are preparing a new contract for 38-year-old goalkeeper Lee Grant. This sudden development could see the player being handed a new role at the club, as the Red Devils consider him as a figure who is well past his prime, and perfectly suited for a player-coach capacity.
Grant joined the Red Devils in a deal worth around £1.5 million back in 2018 from Stoke City. The 38-year-old arrived at Old Trafford after an indecisive spell with the Potters, where he was not able to establish his authority in a proper manner.
So far in his stint with Manchester United, Grant has made just two appearances, one in Europa League and another in the Carabao Cup. The shot-stopper is on the wrong side of 30, and as manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has three other prominent faces who are raring to grab their chances, it certainly will be a robust task for the veteran to get his name within the first eleven.
Expressing frustration over his situation, Grant, in an interview back in January, had said: “It doesn’t matter how long into your career you are, you still find that frustration on a Saturday when you’re not playing. I know I’m at Manchester United, you’ve got some of the best goalkeepers in the world in front of you but you still have that personal pride and professionalism.”
Solskjaer, however, has lavished praise on Grant in the past, saying, “For a manager like me to have Lee [Grant] to call upon it’s fantastic. He has a world-class attitude. He’s probably the fittest of the keepers. He always does extra. He’s a 36-year-old going on 26. I’ve got the perfect goalkeeping department.”
In a season where Manchester United have been putting up impressive displays, for the most part, Solskjaer is well aware of the fact that their motives need to be of the highest order, as they look to re-establish their superiority in English football.
And with Sergio Romero’s future at the club far from certain, having someone as experienced as Grant in the ranks as the third-choice goalkeeper behind David de Gea and Dean Henderson to help out when needed, would make sense for Manchester United.
Grant has only a few more months to decide his future, as his contract expires at the end of the season, and having been a neglected piece in the scheme of the manager, the goalkeeper needs to be precise in his decision. It now remains to be seen whether the veteran is willing to pen an extension and take over a new player-coach role at Old Trafford.
