Man Utd make big David de Gea decision

Stuart Telford

• 18 Dec 2022 11:57 GMT
• 3 min read

David de Gea has been a surprise success story under Erik ten Hag at Manchester United. Will he remain the Red Devils' No.1 going forward?

De Gea was expected to be replaced in short order after Ten Hag replaced Ralf Rangnick as Man Utd manager in April, the coach having dominated Dutch football at Ajax with a ball-playing goalkeeper in Andre Onana.

De Gea is a fine shot-stopper, but not one renowned for being comfortable with the ball at his feet. Ten Hag has kept the Spaniard as his No.1, though, and nine clean sheets later is pleased with his player's progress.

READ: 'De Gea is fantastic but can't play like Ederson or Alisson' - Van der Sar

"Everyone has their own opinion and their own philosophy," Ten Hag said last month. "For me, for a goalkeeper, you have to protect the goal and make sure you don't concede goals. In that fact, he's magnificent.

"On the feet, for me, he has the capabilities as well. I think when you see this season, he is progressing from game to game on that part."

But United have been consistently linked with a long-term replacement for the former Atletico Madrid man, with Porto's Diogo Costa at the top of a shortlist which also includes Everton and England first choice Jordan Pickford among others.

READ: Ten Hag's Dream Man Utd XI

No new deal

And it now appears that De Gea's Old Trafford days are numbered after all, with the club unlikely to activate the one-year extension on his contract which expires in June.

"News De Gea: We've been told that #MUFC - at this stage - is not considering to pull [activate] his clause to extend for one more year," Sky Sports' Florian Plettenberg posted on Twitter. Ten Hag is open to get a new No.1 but the player would like to stay beyond 2023. Current salary between €18-20m/year confirmed."

De Gea has made 507 appearances with Man Utd, keeping 174 clean sheets, since his €25 million move from Atletico in 2011. He won the Premier League under Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013, but United have yet to scale the same heights since the Scot's retirement.