According to James Ducker of the Telegraph, Manchester United face a serious battle to convince David de Gea to stay at Old Trafford beyond the end of his current contract.
United will no doubt take up the option to extend the Spain goalkeeper’s existing deal by 12 months until the end of next season, but there are growing concerns he won’t renew his contract at the club.
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The Telegraph states that talks over a new long-term contract have reached an impasse and United are now fearful of losing De Gea for nothing in June 2020, or being forced to cash in before then on their number one shot-stopper.
This comes as a blow for the club currently in crisis mode.
De Gea, 28, is understood to want to be competing for top domestic and European honours. Something United look distant of doing, despite having the best goalkeeper in the world for some time.
It is claimed Mourinho has lost the support of a number of players, which won’t reflect well when the club turn to its main players to extend their contracts. De Gea knows he can win more silverware elsewhere.
The Spaniard was signed by Sir Alex Ferguson from Atletico Madrid in 2011 but is now five-and-a-half years since the goalkeeper won his one and only Premier League title with United. The club has won the FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League since then, though none of those cups are likely to satisfy a keeper with De Gea’s ambitions.
The Telegraph’s report also notes that United officials met with De Gea’s agent, Jorge Mendes, in London on Friday but they have been unable to reach an agreement as of yet.
