There could soon be a vacancy for a first-choice goalkeeper at Old Trafford.

The Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea has a four-year contract that expires at the end of this week when he will immediately become a free agent.

It is understood he has been offered a new contract with a significantly reduced weekly salary, but for the moment it remains unsigned and his future is uncertain.

This lack of clarity has seen United begin to reach out to goalkeepers across Europe as they realise they might suddenly need to find a replacement.

The United manager Erik ten Hag also remains interested in finding a new first choice goalkeeper to take over from De Gea and so would not be overly troubled if the Spaniard was to leave Old Trafford.

United harbour an interest in Brentford’s David Raya, Porto’s Diogo Costa, and Inter Milan’s Andre Onana, who previously played for Ten Hag at Ajax.

It has also not gone unnoticed that United already have an international goalkeeper with Premier League experience on their staff: Dean Henderson.

The 26-year-old, who has made 29 appearances for United, spent last season on loan at Nottingham Forest. It had been expected that he would move to the East Midlands on a permanent deal this summer, but uncertainty over De Gea’s future has so far prevented that.

It remains an option Henderson could return to Old Trafford this summer and finally become the club’s first choice goalkeeper.

However, that scenario remains unlikely, and it is expected if De Gea fails to sign a new contract, Henderson will be sold, and his transfer fee put towards signing a new keeper.

Before Henderson was ruled out for the second half of last season with a thigh injury, he had performed well for Forest, but not really done enough to persuade Ten Hag he could become United’s first choice keeper. It is understood Ten Hag and Henderson have only had one conversation in the last year.

It was two years ago that the previous United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had decided to make Henderson his number one keeper for the 2021-22 season before the player was ruled out for several weeks with a bout of Covid-19.

This allowed De Gea a chance at redemption and he grasped it, returning to form and keeping Henderson out of the side. The England international was limited to one appearance in the Champions League and one in the FA Cup.

In the spring of 2021, with De Gea conveniently given some paternity leave, Henderson had earlier been given a chance. He started eight consecutive Premier League games, but he was only solid, rather than spectacular, leaving Solskjaer unconvinced.

Even so De Gea’s subsequent uninspiring performance in the 2021 Europa League final when he conceded all eleven penalties he faced, before missing United’s only penalty to hand Villarreal the trophy appeared to change Solskjaer’s mind once again.

For the highest-paid goalkeeper in the world to offer such little resistance saw Solskjaer decide to turn to Henderson before he contracted Covid-19.

It is understood that Henderson has now moved on from United, if not on a permanent transfer yet, at least in his own mind. He has reached the age where he wants to be the first choice at a Premier League club and has that opportunity at Forest.

Solskjaer once described Henderson as “not the most patient guy”, and that has seemingly finally run out this summer, and now should be the right time for both him and United to part ways.