David de Gea maintains he "loves" Manchester United despite turning down their opening contract offer.
The goalkeeper's deal with the Red Devils will soon expire and he and the club are in the midst of negotiating an extension. De Gea signed a lucrative deal in the summer of 2019 that made him one of the Premier League's top earners and he accepts that he'll have to take a pay cut to stay put.
Despite that he felt the first offer put to him was too low and, as the club's No 1, he still wants to be paid appropriately. There is a willingness to reach an agreement with the goalkeeper looking to extend his 12-year stay at Old Trafford as he looks to silence the outside noise regarding his future.
He told Sky Sports : "Of course I’ve been here many, many years enjoying every moment in this club, playing many, many games. Of course is great to be here, it’s a massive club, I love the club and I’m really happy here of course. It has been the same over the years, a lot of noise about everything in this club but the players, we just focus on games.
"Especially the one we have on Sunday is a massive one for us because we want to finish in the top four. Like I say we have many, many games so we have to be really focused on training well, recovering well, helping the team and that’s the most important thing, rather than contracts or anything."
De Gea, during the duration of his current contract, has struggled at times, particularly during Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's tenure. Notable errors have cost his side and they've been on show again this term, namely when he conceded at Brentford earlier in the season.
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The goalkeeper has also faced question marks regarding his style of play, which some don't feel is suited to Ten Hag's system. The Dutchman's possession-based ethos requires his goalkeeper to be comfortable on the ball and confident when it comes to his distribution. The United boss called that aspect of De Gea's game into question earlier in March.
He was quizzed on the Spaniard's issues with the ball and said: "From [the game], I can't ignore it, but I think we have seen many games he did really well. I don't know why, or [what] the reason was. There was a lot of wind, it's a different ball, he probably had some problems with that. But I know he can deal with it and he will do Sunday better."
Dean Henderson headed out on loan to Nottingham Forest in the summer and has made his desire to play regularly clear. He's vented his frustration at his previous situation in Manchester, leaving Ten Hag with a decision to make this summer.
