Jose Mourinho is preparing to reward goalkeeper Sergio Romero with a new contract, according to fresh reports from Daily Star. The Argentine goalkeeper came to the club on a free transfer after leaving Sampdoria. It was straightaway evident that the 30-year-old would be playing the role of a backup to David de Gea, who is clearly one of the best goalkeepers in the world. However, Manchester United have provided the Argentine with much more opportunities than expected, as manager Jose Mourinho has been using Romero as the first choice goalkeeper in the Europa League games.

United’s progress in four different competitions has provided Romero with the ability to make 17 appearances in all competitions. This is a significantly good number for a goalkeeper. Incredibly, he has managed 11 shutouts in this 17 matches. Mourinho is clearly impressed by the Argentine so much so that he is set to reward the player with a new contract. Romero’s current deal comes to an end in June 2018, while have been rumours about the player potentially returning to Italian football in the summer.

Inter Milan have been showing interest (Tutto Mercato) in the player and they were ready to take advantage of his lack of regular first-team opportunities. A new contract would significantly change the dynamic of the situation. Manchester United have scoured long and hard in order to find a good backup goalkeeper like Romero. Now, there is a good possibility of the Argentine being promoted to the role of a first choice goalkeeper if David de Gea ends up at Real Madrid in the summer. The Spaniard has been widely linked with a move to the La Liga 2016-17 champions.

At the moment, Manchester United have the option to extend Romero’s contract by another 12 months. However, a fresh contract will reward the player with a rise in weekly wages. Romero is on a reasonably good contract that pays him around £60,000 per week. It is anticipated that a new contract will rise these figures by around £20,000 per week. United officials believe that this increment should be more than sufficient to convince Romero to stay at Old Trafford rather than think about possibilities elsewhere.

The only stumbling block towards a potential deal may be a Romero’s wish to remain the number one goalkeeper for the Argentine national team. He has made 87 appearances for Argentina and is only a good season away from reaching the 100 caps figure. However, he is aware that spending too much time on the bench at United may cause disruption, especially with Argentina set to appoint a new manager.