Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea is still weighing up a potential transfer to Saudi Arabia but is yet to make a final decision on his future.
Sources with a close understanding of the situation have informed CaughtOffside that this has prompted Man Utd to widen their search for a new goalkeeper this summer, with four names being considered.
De Gea is keeping his options open, and so it could be that the Red Devils will need to bring in a replacement, with Porto’s Diogo Costa one name who has been on the club’s radar for some time.
CaughtOffside understands that Bayern Munich are also interested in Costa, and one issue with the Portuguese shot-stopper is his €75million release clause.
United have other cheaper options who may be more realistic, with internal evaluations being made on Jordan Pickford, who could cost around £40m to sign from Everton.
Erik ten Hag also knows Inter Milan ‘keeper Andre Onana well from their time together at Ajax, and he’s the latest name to come onto United’s radar, with £50m likely to be enough to convince Inter to sell as they have financial issues. Other big names such as Marcelo Brozovic and Federico Dimarco could also be sold in this transfer window.
Sevilla GK Yassine Bounou is another potential bargain option, with MUFC having kept tabs on him for some time, with a deal likely to cost around £30m.
Much will depend on De Gea’s decision, but it’s fair to say we can expect further big-name signings to be made by Saudi clubs this summer.
As many as 20 high-profile targets are in the Saudis’ plans in this transfer window, as revealed by Ben Jacobs in his exclusive CaughtOffside column.
Speaking about De Gea’s future earlier this week, Fabrizio Romano told CaughtOffside: “For David de Gea, the priority is to stay at Manchester United. He really hopes to stay a bit longer at Old Trafford, but if this won’t happen, Saudi will be one of the options. They approached him two weeks ago, but it is not advanced yet as United is his priority.”