Nemanja Matic has agreed a contract extension to stay at Manchester United next season. The 31-year-old’s previous deal was expiring in the summer and he was able to talk to foreign clubs about a pre-contract before moving on a free transfer.

But the Serbia midfielder, who has been a key performer in United’s nine-match unbeaten run ahead of the Manchester derby this weekend, will be staying according to manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

"We have agreed with him so he will stay, 100 per cent," said Solskjaer.

Matic is in the squad to face Manchester City on Sunday, with Solskjaer looking to mastermind the first Premier League “double” over United’s rivals since 2010 in the days of Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney.

“That stat is not nice to hear,” said Solskjaer. “It is one of our challenges to close this gap. Definitely win our individual battles and win more and more games against them.

“I think we have shown we can compete with them on a given day and what we are doing to the squad, building the squad, I think we will get that consistency more and more, and that will help challenge for trophies and close the gap in the league table as well.”

Solskjaer says the impact of his signings mean United are now a different prospect.

“We are nine games unbeaten, it is easier for me to stand here and say that but I have seen improvement all the time,” he added. “But now with the signings we’ve made as well, that gives us that little edge.

“We know at times we let ourselves down early in the season, some performances didn’t get the deserved results. We are getting better but we’re not going to get carried away from being fifth. We are not getting carried away being unbeaten in nine because that used to be the norm and should be the norm here.”