There can be little disputing that David de Gea did not enjoy his most productive season between the sticks at Old Trafford last season. The Spaniard made four goal costing errors last season alone, which was the same tally as his previous three seasons. Staggering really, how his form dipped so drastically.
Some fans have been quick to consign him to the ‘sell’ pile, their argument being that he has seen his better days and now is the ideal time for United to sever ties with arguably their best ever keeper. Others, myself included, are fairly confident, that at just 28-years-old, De Gea is merely having a rough time, as most do at some point in their career and that he will surely return to the levels we know, and he knows he is capable of.
So no doubt the report ran by The Telegraph’s James Ducker this morning will have polarised opinion among United fans: The respected journalist claims that United will seek to resolve the current contractual impasse by offering De Gea fresh terms.
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Along similar lines to previous reports, Ducker states that De Gea and his ‘super agent’ Jorge Mendes are looking for terms close to parity with United’s lead earner Alexis Sanchez, whose hopeful departure will undoubtedly free up some wages which could be put into De Gea’s new deal.
The usual suspects, Real Madrid, Juventus and PSG have all been linked with De Gea in recent weeks and months but United have been hellbent that De Gea will not be going anywhere this summer, despite becoming a free agent and being able to converse with foreign clubs from next January onwards.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is looking to rebuild this stale Manchester United squad with fresh squad and sees De Gea as a vital component in the rebuild mission. However, if fresh terms cannot be thrashed out before the start of the season, it does make you wonder whether United will weaken their stance and look to cash in while they can.
United, as is customary, have been linked with numerous replacements, including Oblak, Onana, Cillessen, Donnarumma, Pickford, Courtois, Navas and Schmeichel, and I’m sure there’s many more.
De Gea has frankly been incredible for United down the years and, despite his poor form last season, I am refusing to write him off just yet. Let’s see where Ole’s rebuild takes us and hopefully that means De Gea getting some new defenders he deserves and United desperately need.
