Ferdinand may extend United contract

Rio Ferdinand may be willing to extend his Manchester United career, but might not make a final decision until the summer.

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The experienced defender's contract at Old Trafford expires at the end of the season and there has been speculation he will then retire.

Ferdinand has refused to speculate on the decision he will take, with former club West Ham one of those to already express an interest.

Red Devils boss Sir Alex Ferguson is keen to see the 34-year-old center-back pen an extension to his contract, with it his opinion that the former England international still has plenty of football left in him yet.

Ferdinand has hinted that he will put pen to paper, but has made it clear that he will not be rushing into making a choice.

"It is always good to hear the manager say things like that," Ferdinand told Inside United.

"But you have to take every week and month as it comes. The best thing I can do is to look at it at Christmas, and then again in the summer, to see how I'm feeling.

"But hearing the manager say things like that definitely puts a spring back in your step."

Having been overlooked by England boss Roy Hodgson since he inherited the national reins, Ferdinand has been able to focus his attention on domestic matters - with a lighter schedule helping him to steer clear of niggling knocks.

"I'll have a better idea of that in December or January time when the games start coming thick and fast," he added on the benefits of an enforced international break which started prior to Euro 2012.

"That is when it really hits you and you know the hard work really has to start. I'll probably get a better gauge of where I'm at fitness-wise and the benefit of having the summer off."