Manchester United consider offering Owen Hargreaves a new one-year contract
Manchester United are considering giving Owen Hargreaves an unexpected opportunity to resurrect his career at Old Trafford by offering the injury-ravaged midfielder the chance to remain at the club beyond the end of this season.
New chance: Owen Hargreaves has got used to leaving the field injured but will hope the offer of a new contract will signal a change in fortunes Photo: GETTY
By Mark ogden 6:40AM BST 08 Apr 2011
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Hargreaves has made just two brief appearances in Sir Alex Ferguson’s first-team, amounting to a total of six minutes, since undergoing double knee surgery in Jan 2009.
But although the 30-year-old’s current contract expires on June 30, the club have been impressed by Hargreaves’s determination to regain full fitness, with United confident that the former England international’s knee problems have been resolved.
Senior figures at the club have stressed that contract talks have yet to take place with Hargreaves, but it is understood that an incentivised 12-month deal could be offered to the Canada-born midfielder at the end of the season if he continues to make progress on the training ground.
Hargreaves, who returned to full training a month ago after a four-month hamstring injury lay-off, is currently sidelined with a shoulder injury sustained two weeks ago, but he is expected to return to contention within the next two weeks.
Having been signed from Bayern Munich in a £19m transfer in May 2007, Hargreaves has managed just 39 appearances for United, although the 42-times capped England midfielder played a key role in the club’s Premier League and Champions League-winning campaign in 2007-08.
A number of European clubs have expressed an interest in signing Hargreaves this summer should he choose to leave United as a free agent, while there has also been tentative interest from within the Premier League.
But United are reluctant to lose a player who could yet return to his former level and they are hopeful that Hargreaves can return to senior contention on a regular basis following an injury-free pre-season.
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