David De Gea Set To Remain At Manchester United

Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea is on the verge of agreeing a new contract to remain at the club.

There had been serious questions about the Spanish goalkeeper’s future, but he has been able to win the trust of his manager Erik ten Hag this season with his consistent performances.

De Gea has been Ten Hag’s number one choice and started 47 games in all competitions as United have cemented their position in the Premier League’s top four, won the Carabao Cup, and made progress in both the Europa League and the FA Cup.

De Gea is also leading the race to win this season’s Golden Glove award, and has 14 clean sheets so far in the Premier League, ahead of Newcastle’s Nick Pope on 13 and Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsdale on 12.

It was thought that De Gea’s limited passing and distribution skills would test Ten Hag’s patience this season, and he publicly voiced his concerns about his kicking only last month.

However, the Dutchman has come to respect De Gea’s abilities as a goalkeeper, and appreciate the experience and leadership he brings to the United dressing room.

“I think David is really multi-functional and a really compete goalkeeper, and we are very happy with him,” Ten Hag said at a press conference on Wednesday ahead of United’s Europa League quarter-final second leg tie against Sevilla on Thursday.

”Stopping goals, avoiding goals as that is the main job for a goalkeeper,” was Ten Hag’s reply when he was asked what are De Gea’s most important attributes as a goalkeeper.

“You can do it in many more ways, everyone has their own particular style and nowadays in possession, it becomes more and more important, especially at the top level because there you take control and it is more difficult for the opponent to gain pressure, you also concede less chances.”

“But at the end of the day it’s about stopping goals, stopping shots, stopping crosses, one-on-ones [and] so that is more like the classic goalkeeper.”

De Gea’s current contract expires at the end of the season, and it is understood the club are close to reaching an agreement on a new deal. There is also an option to extend the existing contract by an extra year.

An issue has been that the Spaniard’s existing contract, which was signed in September 2019, was on an inflated wage believed to be as high as £375,000 per week, which United were not prepared to match this time.

But it is understood United have made the decision to retain De Gea and prioritise strengthening other positions in the transfer market this summer, including a new striker and a new midfielder.