It shouldn’t really end like this, but it’s beginning to look increasingly likely that David de Gea’s 12-year association with Manchester United will come to an end in the next two weeks.
Rather than the send-off a player with 545 appearances - putting him seventh on the all-time list - deserves, De Gea’s time at United could be signed off with a club statement and a few social media tributes.
The 32-year-old’s contract expires on June 30 and the chances of an extension being agreed have plummeted in recent weeks. Talks have continued to take place but there has been no firm offer for the Spaniard.
For much of this season it had looked like a formality that United and De Gea would come to an agreement to extend his stay, albeit on a salary much reduced from his current package of £375,000-a-week. De Gea spent most of the season saying in interviews that it was going to happen.
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But the mood music has changed in recent weeks. The player has been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia and Erik ten Hag’s doubts over an extension have grown.
It’s been clear since the second week of the season that De Gea isn’t a natural fit for Ten Hag’s United. His distribution error at Brentford was a stark reminder of his shortcomings. There was a poor display with his feet against Real Betis and then again in the defeat to Sevilla in April.
What he lacks with his passing, he has usually made up for with shot-stopping. Ten Hag’s defence of De Gea this season has centred on this fact and the idea that a goalkeeper’s job is, fundamentally, to keep the ball out of the net.
Errors have again crept into his game, however. It looks increasingly likely that De Gea’s final match for the club will be the FA Cup final defeat to Manchester City when he was slow getting across to Ilkay Gundogan’s winning goal. It might well be the moment that crystallised Ten Hag’s decision to make a clean or break.
Old Trafford sources insist it remains possible that De Gea stays at the club, and that talks haven’t ended yet, but if that happens it will clearly be another compromise for Ten Hag.
The reason for the uncertainty comes down to finance. The Dutchman has been told his budget won’t stretch to the £225million spent in his first summer of the club and that it will need to be topped up with sales.
United will soon return with a second bid for Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount, a deal that could cost upwards of £50m for the 24-year-old midfielder. Signing a striker also remains an absolute priority.
But most of the planning for this summer has focused on bringing in a younger goalkeeper to put a little bit more pressure on De Gea. United have watched Anderlecht’s 20-year-old Bart Verbruggen, who is also attracting interest from Brighton and Burnley.
That sort of deal might have set United back around £15m, a fee that could easily be offset by the sale of Dean Henderson, who is wanted on a permanent deal by Nottingham Forest.
Talks with Forest are yet to take place, however, with the uncertainty around De Gea’s future now driving most of the recruitment decisions in the early weeks of the window. If a new deal is signed, Henderson will be sold. But if De Gea goes, then Henderson might be required.
A departure for the goalkeeper United signed as a 19-year-old from Atletico Madrid would mean money has to be set aside for a new No. 1. Come the start of July, Henderson, Tom Heaton and Nathan Bishop will be the goalkeepers contracted for next season.
Ten Hag likes his former Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana, who has impressed in his first season at Inter Milan and could leave the San Siro due to the financial problems at the side who lost the Champions League final a week ago. Brentford’s David Raya is another goalkeeper on the radar of United and both Onana and Raya are exceptional with their feet.
There’s no doubt they would fit Ten Hag’s style more than De Gea ever did, but they would also cost at least £40m, probably more in the case of Onana.
Alongside Mount, that would blow a significant hole in Ten Hag’s transfer budget, especially when the recruitment of an elite striker is probably going to cost upwards of £70m, depending on who United target.
A move for Harry Kane might be in the rear-view mirror and extracting Victor Osimhen from Napoli also looks difficult, but Benfica’s Goncalo Ramos and Randal Kolo Muani, of Eintracht Frankfurt, are under discussion. There is also firm interest in 20-year-old Rasmus Hojlund of Atalanta, although the Danish forward looks more like one for the future and the price being quoted is astronomical for someone with nine goals in 32 Serie A games last season.
Signing a new first-choice goalkeeper, Mount and a striker would almost certainly send United’s spending soaring towards the £150m mark and it would make sales absolutely vital.
There is certainly an option to cash in on Henderson, although that could leave Ten Hag needing another goalkeeper, despite the club activating the option in the contract of 37-year-old Heaton. That level of spending might also make United more open to selling Scott McTominay, who is the subject of interest from West Ham and Newcastle. They will also listen to offers for Harry Maguire, who has interest in the Premier League but would have to take a pay cut to move on a permanent deal.
Sales could, of course, mean replacements are needed. That would certainly be the case if Maguire does depart.
These are still early days in the transfer window, which only opened on Wednesday, but for United the picture is changing quickly. How De Gea’s situation plays out over the next two weeks will have a significant impact on what is needed and what is achievable over the next couple of months.
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