Manchester United have confirmed that young duo Callum Whelan and Zak Dearnley have agreed terms as they both put pen to paper on new contracts at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils revealed via their official website (Whelan link, Dearnley link), as well as their official Twitter account, that the midfielder and the forward, who are both part of the under-23 squad for the Premier League giants, had committed their futures to the club with new deals, although the lengths were kept under wraps.
We are delighted to announce Zak Dearnley and Callum Whelan have both signed new deals with #MUFC.
Congratulations, lads!
Details on Dearnley: https://t.co/R9yHuCJOHN
Details on Whelan: https://t.co/TRikjL6eea pic.twitter.com/imPlg4SZvu— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 9, 2018
The pair, both 19-years-old, are part of the squad who have travelled to Austria with under-23 coach Ricky Sbragia, ahead of the new season, having both featured during the last campaign.
Opinion
Manchester United have a proud history of their homegrown talent and these two will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Marcus Rashford and Scott McTominay, who both play in the roles that the young pair do. However, making that step up is a massively difficult task and they will be lucky to get even a sniff at a first team appearance over the next couple of years. They are obviously highly rated at Old Trafford, and there will be hopes they can make that leap at some point, but they will also need to stay grounded after seeing their stays at the club extended. For now, their focus must be on making progress at under-23 level before perhaps heading out on loan to pick up some senior experience – and then maybe Jose Mourinho, or whoever is in charge when the time comes, will be willing to give them their chance in the senior side.