{"id":334136,"date":"2026-05-13T20:23:40","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T14:53:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=334136"},"modified":"2026-05-13T20:23:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T14:53:41","slug":"manchester-united-considering-surprise-recent-contract-for-40-year-old-veteran-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/05\/13\/manchester-united-considering-surprise-recent-contract-for-40-year-old-veteran-football\/","title":{"rendered":"Manchester United considering surprise recent contract for 40-year-old veteran | Football"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Jim Ratcliffe could hand the third selection goalkeeper a brand new deal (Picture: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Manchester United are considering offering a brand new contract to 40-year-old goalkeeper Tom Heaton, despite playing just thrice in five years.<\/p>\n

The England international first joined the Red Devils in 2002, coming through the academy but never making a breakthrough into the primary team.<\/p>\n

He went on a string of loan spells elsewhere before joining Cardiff City permanently in 2010 and happening to enjoy one of the best stint of his profession with Burnley from 2013-19.<\/p>\n

It was during his time with the Clarets that he won his three England caps, going to Euro 2016 with the Three Lions.<\/p>\n

Heaton had two seasons at Aston Villa before a shock return to Manchester United in 2021, where he has been ever since.<\/p>\n

He still hasn\u2019t turned out within the Premier League for the Red Devils, making two League Cup appearances and one within the Champions League since rejoining the club.<\/p>\n

The veteran stopper might not be featuring on the pitch, but he is taken into account a vital and positive presence within the dressing room and on the training pitch.<\/p>\n

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Tom Heaton is taken into account a significant a part of the Man Utd dressing room (Picture: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Sun<\/a> report that Manchester United are considering extending Heaton\u2019s stay on the club, with the added bonus that he counts as a homegrown and club-trained player, helping meet Premier League and UEFA rules.<\/p>\n

Outgoing midfielder Casemiro has talked up the influence of Heaton on the club, saying he is a superb presence in training and even in games.<\/p>\n

\u2018Tom Heaton may be very vital person for us, he\u2019s very vital for us because he pushes the training,\u2019 the Brazil international said on Rio Ferdinand Presents.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018The very first thing is he pushes the training. He pushes each time the training. He pushes in the sport.<\/p>\n

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Tom Heaton with first selection goalkeeper Senne Lammens (Picture: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018In fact he doesn\u2019t play, but he pushes each time. He explains experiences, he speaks thoroughly. Every room needs a Tom, everyone needs this guy. He helps the room a lot.\u2019<\/p>\n

When Heaton signed his current deal last 12 months, extending his contract until the top of the present season, Manchester United director of football Jason Wilcox hailed the veteran\u2019s influence as well.<\/p>\n

\u2018Tom\u2019s leadership and experience are really vital for the group so we\u2019re pleased that he shall be a part of the squad again next season,\u2019 said Wilcox.<\/p>\n

\u2018Tom\u2019s mentality and excellent preparation to be sure that he’s at all times able to perform when called upon makes him the proper complement to our goalkeeping group.\u2019<\/p>\n

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Speaking about his own profession planning earlier this season, Heaton told Inside Carrington: \u2018I did an executive leadership short course from Oxford University. I\u2019ve done my B-Licence goalkeeper coach, B-Licence outfield, A-Licence outfield, a certificate of football management from UEFA.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019ve done a couple of various things through the years, simply to upskill in areas off the pitch which could not fully understand.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s been a superb journey, I\u2019ve met some good people along the way in which. I\u2019m still not 100 per cent sure what direction I\u2019m going to go in once I\u2019ve finished playing.<\/p>\n

\u2018I still feel quite good at this moment in time but, in fact, it\u2019s coming in some unspecified time in the future. I\u2019m open minded is the honest answer.\u2019<\/p>\n

Arrow<\/title>\n<\/use><\/svg>MORE: Man Utd chiefs make final suggestion on next Man Utd manager<\/span><\/p>\n

Arrow<\/title>\n<\/use><\/svg>MORE: Casemiro makes Arsenal Premier League title claim with Real Madrid comparison<\/span><\/p>\n

Arrow<\/title>\n<\/use><\/svg>MORE: Darren Fletcher hails 15-year-old Manchester United wonderkid as \u2018amazing talent\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

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Jim Ratcliffe could hand the third selection goalkeeper a brand new deal (Picture: Getty Images) Manchester United are considering offering a brand new contract to 40-year-old goalkeeper Tom Heaton, despite playing just thrice in five years. The England international first joined the Red Devils in 2002, coming through the academy but never making a breakthrough […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":334137,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20686],"tags":[42746,8733,5479,6707,3013,1458,6864],"class_list":["post-334136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football","tag-40yearold","tag-contract","tag-football","tag-manchester","tag-surprise","tag-united","tag-veteran"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=334136"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334136\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":334139,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334136\/revisions\/334139"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/334137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=334136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=334136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=334136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}