Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is reportedly interested in signing Yann Sommer on a free transfer next summer.
Sommer's Borussia Monchengladbach contract expires at the end of the season and the 33-year-old could find employment elsewhere. The Swiss goalkeeper played in his country's humiliating 6-1 defeat to Portugal in the last 16 of the World Cup on Tuesday.
United will be able to contact Sommer's agent from January, as players can speak to overseas clubs during the final six months of their contracts. The Red Devils are looking to revamp their goalkeeping department due to the uncertainty surrounding current stars.
As reported by ESPN, United are considering signing Sommer on a pre-contract agreement ahead of next season. The 80-cap international has represented Switzerland at five major tournaments and played more than 600 first-team games at club level.
Sommer started his career at Swiss giants Basel. After loan spells at Swiss Super League rivals Vaduz and Grasshoppers, he became Basel's first-choice goalkeeper and won four consecutive league titles, as well as the Swiss Cup during the 2011/12 campaign.
Sommer joined Monchengladbach in the summer of 2014 as their first-choice goalkeeper. Although he is yet to win silverware in Germany, he has played in the Champions League was named in the Bundesliga Team of the Season during the 2019/20 term.
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"I am currently having very open talks with the club [about a new contract]," said Sommer in the summer. "I admit that it took me a lot of time to process the past season and to think about everything that happened [Monchengladbach finished 10th in the Bundesliga]."
United boss Ten Hag knows he may need to bring in new goalkeepers in the next few transfer windows. Martin Dubravka's loan spell expires at the end of the season and he is expected to return to Newcastle after playing just once for the Red Devils this season.
Fellow reserve stopper Tom Heaton is out of contract in June - although United have the option to extend his deal by a further 12 months - while Dean Henderson is not expected to re-join Ten Hag's squad once his loan spell at Nottingham Forest ends in June.
Henderson was critical of United after joining Forest on a one-year loan deal in the summer and it's hard to imagine a route back into Ten Hag's squad. There are also doubts about the future of United's undisputed first-choice goalkeeper David de Gea.
The Spaniard's contract expires in June, although United can extend his deal by a further 12 months. De Gea is one of their highest-paid players - earning around £375,000-a-week - and they could be reluctant to give him another long-term contract on the same wage.
Rumours of United's interest in Sommer also begs the question of whether he would be Ten Hag's first-choice goalkeeper or De Gea's understudy. Sommer may be reluctant to be a second-choice stopper, seeing as he's been a No.1 for the previous 11 seasons.
