A major topic of conversation among Manchester United supporters at the minute is David de Gea’s contract situation.
The Spaniard’s contract is due to expire at the end of the season, and with no decision made, his future as Manchester United’s No. 1 is up in the air after nearly 12 years at the club.
De Gea has really divided opinion this season, with some fans proposing he should be moved on and replaced by a more “modern” goalkeeper, who can play out from the back and move off his line as a sweeper more efficiently than De Gea has shown in recent seasons. Especially under a manager who prefers his team to play out from the back and be in control of possession, like Ten Hag.
On the other side of this debate is the fact that De Gea has rescued United countless times over the years with clutch saves. He has shown consistently that he is a world class shot stopper and has unbelievable reflexes. Many will argue the most important facet for a goalkeeper is keeping the ball out of the net, and with 17 clean sheets in all competitions (2nd most in Europe), this is clearly something De Gea excels at, which is exactly why some fans believe the idea of him being a weakness or a problem in the current side is completely untrue.
However, there are now several factors that have to be taken into account regarding De Gea’s contract situation. His age and the wages he currently earns are the two big factors in the contract decision.
De Gea is now 32 and is the highest earner at the club, as well as being the highest paid goalkeeper in the world by some distance, with a weekly wage of around 375k a week. I feel the wage he currently earns is vastly superior to his standing among the top keepers in the league and in Europe. For example, Liverpool’s Allisson has a weekly wage of 190k a week and Ederson of Manchester City earns around 180k a week, this is close to half of what De Gea currently earns, and they are much better overall keepers than De Gea, as they have proven in recent years where they played pivotal roles in their teams success in the Premier League and Champions League.
It is obvious that United could bring in a top class goalkeeper for less than half the wage that De Gea currently earns, and after recent efforts from United to trim down the massive wage bill at the club, this may be a decision they take in the summer time for financial reasons as well as footballing reasons.
Understandably, United have been preparing for a scenario where De Gea departs at the end of his contract, Porto’s young goalkeeper Diogo Costa and Brentford’s David Raya are two good candidates. They have what it takes on the ball, their passing range, and the ability to counteract long balls over the top of the defence by coming off their line and operating outside their penalty box comfortably. These are all areas where De Gea has struggled this season, and the fact that United are targeting this profile of a keeper shows that Ten Hag prefers a more proactive and modern goalkeeper in his team to complement his philosophy of a possession based style of football.
All things considered, it may be the right time for De Gea and United to part ways at the end of the season. De Gea is undeniably a United legend, but like other great players before him, there comes a time where they have to be replaced to take the team to the next level or give the manager a goalkeeper that he feels can implement his style of play to a higher standard.
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sell degea.
if he wont accept a wage cut by half,,,,move him out .
there are younger and just as good as he is ,,,,remember he wanted out of mufc a few ago
To be fair, the amount rejected was not reported, and most initial offers are pushed back.
I don’t see the rationale in offering him a new deal if, as reported the club also wants to recruit a younger keeper who not only gives him competition but eventually succeed him.Why not just let him go & get in the replacement whom they’ll immediately give the nod in that position?After all that’s exactly what happened with him.He came in as a young lad knowing he was first choice & leaders in the team like the Giggs,Rios etc helped him bed in. There’s now a fair share of such available now.
In fairness, if De Gea was more proactive and left his line more than he does (virtually never for corners and crosses) he would never have to make so many world class saves.