Man Utd player set for huge pay rise if contract option triggered

A Manchester United player could be set for a huge pay rise if the club decides to trigger an option in his current contract.

United are currently third in the Premier League and remain on course to qualify for next season's Champions League.

One player who has been a forgotten man under manager Erik ten Hag is defender Axel Tuanzebe.

The 25-year-old Englishman is currently on loan at Championship side Stoke City and last featured for the Red Devils back in 2021.

He's made just three league appearances for The Potters this season as he desperately searches for more regular game time.

Tuanzebe's current contract at United expires this summer and he looks set to leave on a free transfer unless the club decide to trigger a 12-month extension clause that's inserted in his deal.

This would allow them time to offload him for a fee, but it would also see Tuanzebe receive a £20,000 per-week pay rise, according to Football Insider.

He's currently paid £42,000 a week whilst out on loan, with most of the wages covered by United. This would rise to £62,000 if he remained at Old Trafford for another year.

He's not good enough

The defender has made 37 first-team appearances for United since graduating from their academy but has failed to convince a series of managers that he's good enough to be regularly involved.

Multiple loan moves have provided him with the opportunity to prove himself but he's never really performed consistently at a good level.

Given this, it would be surprising if United did trigger the extension due to the bad financial terms attached to it.

The Red Devils often include a 12-month extension option in their player's contracts to protect their financial value and in a lot of cases, it makes sense to trigger it.

However, it's best for all parties for Tuanzebe to move on a find regular game time so that he can progress further.