Whether or not they go on to win the FA Cup final against cross city rivals, Man City, Man United manager, Erik ten Hag, has some big decisions to make in the summer, not least whether he continues with David de Gea as his number one goalkeeper.
The Spaniard still has the ability to pull off outstanding saves between the posts for the Old Trafford outfit, but in general he isn’t the player he once was.
One only has to look at his disaster-class in the Europa League against Sevilla to see why the Red Devils might be considering that it’s worth looking elsewhere for a top-class custodian.
According to super agent, Haydn Dodge, writing in his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, the Old Trafford outfit won’t baulk at having to pay big money for their new keeper, if that’s what the Dutchman and his board decide.
‘Man United won’t be scared of dropping £30m-£50m on a keeper if they need to but it depends who they want’ he wrote.
‘They won’t mind going losing a goalkeeper at a minimum retail value either, but David De Gea has been there quite a while so his value isn’t really determined on a transfer fee, it’s determined on his performances.
‘I actually thought he did alright in the Brighton game. He made a couple of really good saves and I still think he’s a solid goalkeeper.’
The issue that ten Hag potentially has is the lack of decent replacements that are able to come straight in to such a storied club and hit the ground running and not be overawed by the responsibility.
Given the way in which the Dutchman wants his team to play, there are a few keepers in particular that Dodge believes could be just the right fit for the Red Devils.
‘Alisson Becker’s got a mistake in him, Aaron Ramsdale’s got a mistake in him, Hugo Lloris is in the top five worst goalkeepers in the Premier League in my opinion, and his number two isn’t much better,’ he added.
‘David Raya and Rob Sanchez are probably the next cusp of top level keepers coming through, but even those have got mistakes in them if they’re playing for teams who want to play a certain way.
‘Liverpool have got Kelleher sitting on the bench who has been absolutely fantastic, and Dibu Martinez hasn’t set the world alight in the Premier League but he’s won the World Cup.’