EVRA SIGNS FOR UNITED

Patrice Evra has signed a new Manchester United contract.

The Frenchman was considering leaving United after eight years at the club, but he has decided to extend his contract, which was due to expire next week, by another 12 months.

A tweet from United's official Twitter account read: "We can confirm that Patrice Evra has extended his contract at #mufc for another year."

Evra's looked set to leave after it emerged that United had tabled a £27million bid for Southampton left-back Luke Shaw.

But the defender has opted to remain until the end of Louis van Gaal's first year in charge.

Evra, who was reported to be in talks with Juventus earlier this week, would help Shaw's transition into the United first team, should the club complete the signing of the England international this summer.

Evra's contract extension will be welcomed by the vast majority of United fans, who have taken the 33-year-old to their hearts since he joined from Monaco in 2006.

Evra is a popular member of the dressing room too and is also renowned for his leadership skills.

The former Nice defender, who has played 379 times for United, also showed glimpses of decent form last season despite the club's woeful campaign under David Moyes.

He scored a stunning goal to put United ahead at Bayern Munich in the Champions League, although it was not enough to stop his team crashing out of the competition at the Allianz Arena.