Having initially hinted that he may retire at the end of the season, Edwin van der Sar appeared on the verge of a surprise about-turn last night when he announced his intention to stay at Manchester United for another year.

The United goalkeeper, who turns 37 on Monday, is out of contract at Old Trafford in June and had appeared ready to call time on his glittering career, but is hopeful of opening talks about a one-year extension in the coming weeks.

Sir Alex Ferguson is understood to have no desire to lose Van der Sar, who has been outstanding since joining the club from Fulham in the summer of 2005, although by keeping the goalkeeper on for another season, the United manager is hopeful that the Dutchman can continue to assist in the development of Ben Foster, his long-term replacement.

“My agent has not heard anything official from the club, but I expect to hold talks with the relevant people in December,” Van der Sar said. “Last year we extended my contract in that month so that could well happen again. I am very happy here at the club. I am playing at a very high level every week and with my experience I can maybe help the younger players a lot in the future. You can guess what I will do if and when I get a new offer from the club.”

Foster was expected to challenge Van der Sar for the No 1 jersey at Old Trafford this season, only for the England goalkeeper to suffer an untimely blow when he underwent knee ligament surgery that will keep him out of action until the new year.

Ferguson, meanwhile, is understood to have concerns about the fitness of Paul Scholes after the midfield player suffered a knee injury in training and underwent a scan on Wednesday. Scholes is doubtful for the matches at home to Middlesbrough tomorrow and against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium seven days later.