David De Gea has been given no assurances he will remain Manchester United’s No1 goalkeeper next season, even though he is edging closer to agreeing a new contract with the club.
De Gea’s position came under fresh scrutiny on Sunday after an atrocious error gifted Said Benrahma the game’s only goal in United’s 1-0 defeat at West Ham. The Spaniard palmed Benrahma’s weak shot into the goal after failing to make what should have been a routine save.
It followed an error-strewn display in United’s 3-0 Europa League hammering by Sevilla last month, even if the bigger question marks going forward have surrounded De Gea’s distribution, rather than his handling. De Gea has looked uncomfortable playing out from the back, raising questions about how suited he is to manager Erik ten Hag’s system and wider plans.
Nonetheless, United remain in advanced talks with De Gea’s representatives over a new deal that is likely to involve a cut to his current £375,000 a week deal by moving to a lower basic salary with more performance related add-ons, hence why the club have not triggered a 12-month extension option in the goalkeeper’s existing contract. That option expires this month.
Yet it is understood that De Gea has received no guarantees he will remain United’s No. 1 next season as Ten Hag continues to keep his options open, even though he said after West Ham that he has “no concerns” over the 32-year-old and reiterated his desire to keep him.
United are one of Brentford goalkeeper David Raya’s many admirers and they have also looked at Diogo Costa, of Porto, among others.
A decision also has to be made on the future of Dean Henderson, who has spent the season on loan at Nottingham Forest but his campaign was recently ended by a thigh injury that required surgery. United seem likely to try to cash in on Henderson, who wants to be a first choice goalkeeper.
Whether Ten Hag has the money to spend on a new goalkeeper will depend on a variety of factors, including Champions League qualification, how much cash they raise through sales, the ownership situation and what funds are earmarked for other positions as well as the manager’s own priorities.
Ten Hag has prioritised the recruitment of a top-class centre-forward but he would also like a midfielder. United are not expecting to do as much business as last summer, when they made five permanent signings, but multiple areas of the team need assessing.
United are waiting to discover whether the Glazers will sell the club, with Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos the two main bidders.
