Manchester United's Ed Woodward: We Want to 'Rapidly' Agree New Player Contracts

Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has said he wants to quickly conclude contract talks with several key players, with negotiations ongoing with David De Gea, Ander Herrera and Juan Mata.

The Red Devils supremo announced he wishes to confirm a number of fresh deals by the end of the campaign after tying Anthony Martial to a new long-term contract.

Speaking during the club's quarterly conference call, Woodward explained the latest state of play.

According to Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News, Woodward said:

"We're delighted to have secured agreements to extend the contracts of a number of our players, Anthony Martial, Scott McTominay, Ashley Young, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling. We are a long way through the ones we had planned to do in this season, but obviously, we want to finish off the final few as rapidly as we can. Possibly by the time we get to the summer, we'll be in a much stronger position with regard to the average tenure of each contract with our key players."

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Woodward also hailed the opening stint of interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after former coach Jose Mourinho was shown the exit last December.

United remained unbeaten under the Norwegian until losing 2-0 to Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie on Tuesday.

Woodward said:

"Ole has been joined by Mick Phelan, who previously spent 14 years with us as a coach, including five as Sir Alex Ferguson's assistant manager. They have had fantastic start, reviving the fortunes of the team and in the process setting a new Manchester United record of winning their first eight consecutive matches. 

"I congratulate Ole once again for winning the Premier League's Manager of the Month for January and for Marcus Rashford winning the Premier League's Player of the Month. The team has accumulated 25 out of 27 points in the league with some fantastic performances."

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De Gea and Herrera have been important members of the starting XI under Solskjaer, and retaining their services remains a priority for the Red Devils as they pass through further transition.

Per Luckhurst, De Gea's current deal runs until 2020, but the Spaniard has become widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world during his eight-year spell at Old Trafford.

Herrera was on the fringes of the team under Mourinho, but he has experienced a return to form in a midfield three containing himself, Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic.

The former Atheltic Bilbao player is considered by United fans as one of the primary leaders on the pitch. His current deal is set to expire in the summer.

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The Theatre of Dreams has been a much happier place in recent weeks, and it is now important the club convinces the core of its team to stay in Manchester.

A lack of trophies could see De Gea look elsewhere. He is a world-class stopper who should be competing at the top level.

However, Solskjaer has quickly shown the current squad is not far away from a title challenge. Manchester City and Liverpool lead the way, and the potential addition of a new centre-back in the summer would go a long way in United's latest revival.