Manchester United face fresh David de Gea battle

Manchester United weren’t the only club who began to feel worried when Real Madrid saw their transfer ban suspended by FIFA at the end of January, but the Premier League outfit could find that one of their players is right at the top of the Primera Liga giant’s shopping list this summer. David de Gea came as close as it’s possible to come to sealing a move to the Bernabeu in the summer, only for Real Madrid (or United) to fail to submit the correct paperwork before the end of the transfer deadline.

While the goalkeeper found himself brought in from the cold after agreeing a new contract to stay at Old Trafford, the transfer saga is seemingly not yet over.

safc vs mu

SAFC vs MUFC” (CC BY 2.0) by  vagueonthehow 

The former Atletico Madrid goalkeeper has once again been one of European soccer’s best shot-stopper’s this season, standing out in a Manchester United side that has again struggled to compete with the best teams in the Premier League. With Louis van Gaal’s men priced at around 9/2 with the betting odds at the time of writing to finish in the top four this season and secure Champions League soccer next season, De Gea may feel he needs to make the move to Real now rather than waste another year playing at Europa League level. Playing behind an inexperienced and often patched together defence, the Spanish goalkeeper has again been one of the Premier League’s most consistent stoppers.

Madrid head coach Zinedine Zidane and president Florentino Perez are now believed to be putting together a fresh bid for the United number one in the summer. That job would be made much easier if Premier League giants United can’t offer him Champions League soccer. Real had let Iker Casillas leave the Bernabeu in the summer in the belief that De Gea was on his way and, while Keylor Navas has let nobody down since being handed the number-one jersey, Madrid clearly feel they need one of the game’s elite stoppers to help them compete both domestically and in the Champions League. The Costa Rican international has been a solid and reliable presence at the back for Real since his arrival from Levante, but he lacks the wow factor this club like from their players.

Now Spain’s undisputed number one, it seems right that De Gea returns to La Liga with Real. While nobody can lay the blame at the door of Navas, it’s hard to imagine Madrid conceding the goal a game they have this season if they had De Gea in net. Always a natural and talented shot-stopper, the 25-year-old has added a real sense of leadership to his game, dominating his area in a way he failed to during the early stages of his time in the Premier League. With United seemingly a couple of years away from returning to their place at the top of English soccer, it’s going to be hard for the club to convince their few world-class players that they should sacrifice the best years of their career not competing for honours.

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