Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has hit back at claims that David De Gea wanted to play against Tottenham last week, reports the Daily Mirror.
The Dutchman has revealed that goalkeeping coach Frans Hoek spoke to the 24-year-old, and the player said that he didn’t want to play in the encounter. The Spain international will also not be involved in their match against Aston Villa on Friday, with interest from Real Madrid still having an effect on his game according to the former Barcelona boss.
“We have a goalkeeping coach, Frans Hoek, I’m not doing everything alone,” van Gaal said, “Frans Hoek, he has a meeting with David de Gea and he asks him ‘Do you want to play?’ ‘No.’
“Then I have to take the decision. We’ve talked with him, he fully agreed with our decision. I have one assistant coach and another assistant coach so we speak about that kind of thing.”
It doesn’t look like the the transfer saga will be over soon, with over two weeks still left to go in the window. The Red Devils are thought to be demanding £33 million for their prize asset, but Los Merengues aren’t expected to meet that fee.
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With Keylor Navas and Kika Casilla impressing in pre-season, Los Blancos may not even need to sign the goalkeeper. However, if they do, United have been linked to both Ajax ace Jasper Cillessen and Tottenham star Hugo Lloris [Daily Mirror].