Manchester United and Real Madrid officials are set to meet on Monday to discuss the future of David De Gea, reports the Metro.
Italian journalist Tancredi Palmeri revealed the news on Twitter:
Manchester United to meet tomorrow with Real Madrid for De Gea
— Tancredi Palmeri (@tancredipalmeri) July 19, 2015
The long-running saga over the 24-year-old’s transfer could be finally coming to a head with this encounter. It had been thought that Los Merengues were going to wait until next summer to sign the goalkeeper on a free transfer when his contract ends [Independent]. However, with the two sides now talking, it could be that a deal is reached this summer.
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The Red Devils could be looking to use this situation to get Sergio Ramos from the Bernabeu, having asked for the defender in return for De Gea [The Guardian]. This had been thought to be off the cards due to the player being set to be named Real captain [Independent] but, similarly to De Gea’s move, the situation may change during Monday’s talks.
With Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, and Jonny Evans all looking unreliable at times in the last campaign, strengthening at centre-back must be one of the priorities for United.
If they lose De Gea though, it will be a major blow to manager Louis van Gaal ahead of the team’s return to the Champions League.
The Dutchman was forced to rely heavily on the Spain international last season, with the player making up for an error-prone back line.
Should the side lose their stopper it will make it that much harder for them to compete on four fronts, with the extra European games putting added pressure on the squad.