David De Gea’s Manchester United future is uncertain.
The Spanish shot-stopper, also one of the Red Devils’ longest-serving players, will be out of contract at the end of the season.
Although the Red Devils retain the option of trigging an additional year, after declining to, De Gea is now in talks to renew his deal but on reduced terms.
And despite being one of the club’s most important players, recent individual mistakes, including a monumental error against West Ham last weekend, which, after allowing Said Benrahma’s tame shot to slip through his hands, has opened the door for Liverpool to close the gap in the race for the top four.
Consequently, following his recent disastrous performance, speculation over whether or not a renewed deal will still materialise has been rife.
Manager Erik Ten Hag was quick to come out and publicly defend the former Spain international though. The Dutchman admitted that he would like the 32-year-old to continue at Old Trafford next season.
“He has the most clean sheets in the league so we would not be here in this position without him,” the United boss told reporters post-West Ham, as quoted by the Guardian.
“He fully has my belief. No concerns with him. It happens but as a team you have to deal with it, show character, be resilient and bounce back. We want him to stay and extend his contract.”
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And the latest in the ongoing saga comes from journalist Dean Jones, who believes De Gea will stay with the Red Devils for one more season before being replaced by a new long-term number one this time next year.
“Erik Ten Hag doesn’t have enough concern that this is becoming a priority issue for him,” Jones told GiveMeSport.
“This goes hand in hand with the fact that they’re a long way down the line of negotiating a new contract with De Gea.
“He can’t watch him make a mistake and then retract everything that you’ve been talking about for the last three or four months. I still think the likelihood, to be honest, is that De Gea does end up signing a new contract and that United fans will have to wait at least another season or so for a new number one to arrive.”
During his 12 years with the club, De Gea, who has also represented Spain on 45 occasions throughout his career, has kept 188 clean sheets from 540 appearances in all competitions.
It is indeed a dire predicament over DeGea’s frequent failures and which is hurting the club badly in its quest for success and return to another glorious future.
The season is ending in less than 20 days, and 3 out of the 4 games at home, it is all in the players’ legs and minds to get the minimum 9 points to achieve top 4. They should go for the maximum 12 points as a tribute to the fans for the loyalty they have shown them.