Ten Hag insists he's 'really happy with De Gea' but Man Utd boss not rushing new contract

Erik ten Hag has been impressed with Man Utd goalkeeper David De Gea but admits solving the Spaniard's future is on the back burner at the moment.

De Gea made his 500th appearance for United at the weekend as he kept a clean sheet in the 0-0 draw with Newcastle United.

The goalkeeper's future beyond this season remains uncertain with his contract running until next year. Ten Hag has not yet decided to trigger its extension clause.

"We haven't made a decision on him, but what I can say is that I'm really happy with David de Gea as a goalkeeper," said the Dutchman.

"His first two games of the season weren't his best performances but afterwards, you see, he really brings us a lot for the defense, it gives stability.

"As a person, I like him too. I can cooperate really well with him.

"But first we're going to winter and then we'll talk about how we deal with such situations."

De Gea is one of a number of great Man Utd players in the same boat.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Marcus Rashford, Luke Shaw and Fred are others out of contract in 2023 with an option to extend, as are Diogo Dalot, Axel Tuanzebe, Phil Jones and Tom Heaton.

"Right now, we're only thinking about playing," Ten Hag said. "We have a lot of games to play, so I don't want to be embarrassed by talks.

"We have to focus on the football, on the performance, not on the negotiation, that's what we are doing now."

When asked if expiring contracts could be an incentive for players, Ten Hag replied, "It's something for the head and some players are motivated when you play for a contract.< /p>

"But that's not why we're running it like this. We want to restore Man United, we want to develop the team, develop the team and bring everything to a better level.

"We are working on this way of playing, as well as on the culture and of course we need quality and highly motivated players.

"Such players we are looking for and fortunately we have them in the team, so I'm quite happy with the team. The way they work, the motivation they all have and I think cooperation is pretty good."

Ten Hag is immediately focused on an important win on Wednesday against Tottenham - a club he reportedly interviewed for in 2021 as the north London club sought Jose Mourinho's successor.

"I never talk about interest or anything else," he said. "Besides, it's not interesting.

"It's about whether I'm here and I'm happy to be here and I want to make the most of here."

Ten Hag has certainly made some promising early changes since swapping Ajax for Old Trafford in the summer, but admits he is 'impatient' and someone who is 'never satisfied'.

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When asked if he could have expected better at this point given the circumstances, he replied, "I think that's a good question.

"Obviously there are a lot of problems. We have to integrate a lot of players, we still have to deal with some problems offensively.

"Cristiano Ronaldo was unavailable from the start. Anthony Martial wasn't on the pitch. I think he hasn't played a full game so far. I'm sure it will get better ) your two number nines are not there.

"When they are present, fit and in good fighting form, then I think the team's results will improve."

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