David de Gea faces Man Utd exit on free transfer with club ‘not set to trigger 12-month extension’
DAVID DE GEA faces a free transfer exit in the summer as Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag fancies bringing in a new keeper.
De Gea would reportedly be happy to stay but the Red Devils seem unwilling to trigger a 12-month extension to his contract.
Sky Germany say United are so far “not considering” keeping De Gea beyond June and Ten Hag is “open” to signing a replacement.
The Spaniard’s departure would take another hefty chunk off the Old Trafford wage bill following Cristiano Ronaldo‘s sudden departure.
De Gea is understood to earn more than £300,000 a week, having been a regular choice since joining from Atletico Madrid in 2011.
United remain interested in Porto’s Diogo Costa, who became the first-choice stopper for Portugal during the World Cup.
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Ten Hag said of De Gea before the current break: “As a person, I like him. I can cooperate with him really well.
“But first we go to the winter and then we will talk about how deal with such situations.
“We only think about performing, we have a lot of games to go, so I don’t want to get that interfered by talks.”
De Gea bounced back to form last season and rival stopper Dean Henderson was loaned to Nottingham Forest this term.
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But the 32-year-old has never fully won over Ten Hag.
The Dutchman prefer keepers who are more comfortable with the ball at their feet.
And De Gea’s mixed fortunes in the current campaign were summed up when he missed out on Spain’s World Cup squad.
Brighton’s Robert Sanchez and Brentford’s David Raya did go to Qatar.
But Athletic Bilbao hero Unai Simon, 25, was Spain’s first choice – a month after being linked with United.