David de Gea will be forced to take a significant pay cut if he signs a new deal with Manchester United.
The 32-year-old Spaniard sees his current £375,000-a-week contract expire at the end of the season, and manager Erik ten Hag has informed his superiors that he wants him to re-sign. De Gea is also keen to extend his 12-year stay at Old Trafford, but in order to do so, his lucrative salary will have to take a major hit.
According to the Daily Star, United want to slash the four-time Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year's wages by at least £100,000 per week, saving them almost £5million annually. The Old Trafford hierarchy do have the option to extend De Gea's current deal for another campaign until the end of the 2023-24 season - like a number of other star players - but they're yet to exercise that clause.
It's added that despite Ten Hag's plea to see his No.1 rewarded with a contract extension, there have been no talks between the Red Devils and De Gea's representatives to discuss his future beyond the ongoing term. Last month, the former Atletico Madrid starlet - signed in 2011 by Sir Alex Ferguson - made his 500th appearance for United and remains a world-class shot-stopper.
Although he was left out of Spain's squad for the World Cup due to La Roja boss Luis Enrique preferring goalkeepers who're better with their feet than De Gea, his stunning performance in the recent 1-0 victory over West Ham proved that he can still cut it at the top level.
De Gea produced three outstanding saves to ensure that the Red Devils came away with all three points, with his grateful teammates indebted to his remarkable display. And after 11-and-a-half tumultuous years in Manchester, he's made it clear that he hopes to make many more good memories between the Old Trafford posts.
"This is my club and this is where I feel good. I'm playing well - I feel very well. I think I have many more years to play. I feel confident," De Gea affirmed. "Yes, I would like to stay here more years and make records of games and records of everything. To try to help the young people here as well with my experience and try to win trophies."
Ten Hag has sung the former Spain international's praises of late, especially after he recovered from a wretched start to the season which included two errors during United's 4-0 humiliation at Brentford in August.
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Recently asked whether a decision on De Gea's future had already been made, the Dutch tactician replied: "We didn't make a decision on him but what I can say is that I am really happy with David de Gea as a 'keeper. His first two games of the season were not his best performances but after it you see he brings us really a lot for the defence department, gives stability.
"As a person also I like him. I can really cooperate with him really well. But first we go to the winter and then we will talk about how we deal with such situations."
