You'd be forgiven for not believing your eyes with David de Gea regularly leaving his Manchester United box on Sunday night.
It's said that you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but De Gea is just 31 years old and desperate to stay at Old Trafford with his contract expiring at the end of the season, which means he's now trying to adapt to earn a contract extension.
United have the option of triggering another year on De Gea's current deal and the Manchester Evening News revealed last month that United are expected to trigger one-year options in five players' contracts at the club before the end of the January window.
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De Gea is on that list, along with Diogo Dalot, Luke Shaw, Fred and Marcus Rashford, but extending the Spaniard's contract would be the most dubious call from those five players, with genuine doubts over his ability to play exactly how Erik ten Hag wants.
While it would be nonsensical for the club not to exercise the option of extending the contracts of Dalot, Shaw, Fred and Rashford, there is an argument that now is the time for De Gea to leave the club after over 11 years of service at Old Trafford.
Ten Hag wants his goalkeeper to play proactively and that message has even trickled down to the academy. Although the first-team is supposed to lead by example, De Gea has never been a proactive goalkeeper and he is not comfortable with the ball at his feet.
That is not a good look, but to his credit, you wouldn't have thought that was true at Goodison Park at the weekend, as De Gea was surprisingly proactive in between the sticks and his starting position around his box was notably higher than usual. He also produced an excellent, late save to deny James Garner with just minutes remaining on the clock.
It was a strong performance and De Gea admitted after the victory that he would like to stay at United for 'more years' and that he is 'really happy' at the club, but it remains to be seen whether Ten Hag thinks he can improve with the ball at his feet enough to extend his deal. It's understood that Ten Hag has already outlined his demands to the club's goalkeepers.
The shot-stopper is United's second-highest earner after Cristiano Ronaldo and the decision won't be taken lightly. Ten Hag is a meticulous manager and he is currently analysing every aspect of De Gea's game with the future in his calculations.
De Gea has been at the club for over a decade and his strengths and weaknesses are no secret, which means he'll have to be actively improving on the training ground with the ball at his feet to give him the best chance of a contract extension.
The goalkeeper was spotted training on his own at Carrington on Wednesday morning and perhaps he was laying the foundations for a proactive performance at the weekend in that session.
De Gea has been criticised for being glued to his line throughout his career, but he ventured away from the safety of his goal against Everton and he was almost responsible for United taking the lead before half-time, when he was the catalyst for a transition.
Victor Lindelof was the last man in defence and he was vulnerable to Everton's long, searching ball, with Anthony Gordon and Neal Maupay arriving fast. De Gea was switched on and aware of the trajectory of the ball, which allowed him to avert the danger.
De Gea calmly passed the ball with a first-time pass in between the closing Gordon and Maupay and that gave Dalot the opportunity to find Christian Eriksen. It's fair to suggest he might have found the terraces with a clearance if Ten Hag wasn't on the touchline.
After just another two passes in midfield, Casemiro had a free header in the box and he should have scored.
The decision on De Gea's future is looming and sentimentality should not influence that process. De Gea's limitations with the ball at his feet are obvious, although his performance against Everton showed that he's prepared to fight for his future.
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