Man Utd's long-term De Gea replacement revealed

Cameron Smith

• 20 Feb 2023 12:37 GMT
• 3 min read

Manchester United have already identified David de Gea's replacement at the club amid uncertainty surrounding his future.

The 32-year-old has less than six months left on his contract at Old Trafford, and the Red Devils are willing to offer him a weekly salary of £250,000 in order to keep him, according to the Sun.

However, that is a significant drop from his current £375,000 per week wages, which has left his future at Old Trafford in question.

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As a result, the club have reportedly set their sights on Leeds United's Illan Meslier, having identified the young Frenchman as the perfect replacement for club legend De Gea.

Man Utd are willing to wait for Meslier, 22, if De Gea decides to extend his stay at the club, but believe they will be forced to act fast if Leeds are relegated, which could complicate things.

De Gea has managed to keep his place as Man Utd's number one despite the club being linked with several high-profile names in the past six months. Yann Sommer was heavily rumoured to be a target in January, but the Swiss international joined Bayern Munich, with Montpellier's Jonas Omlin replacing him at Borussia Monchengladbach.

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Meslier to Old Trafford?

Meslier has constantly been linked with an exit from Elland Road since he broke through into the first-team under Marcelo Bielsa.

However, the young Frenchman has stayed put thus far, with no deals managing to materialise.

This season, Meslier has conceded 6.2 more goals than xG predicts he should've done, which is the third-worst in the entire Premier League, ahead of only Mark Travers and Gavin Bazunu.

The Leeds 'keeper has also conceded the third-most goals - only the aforementioned Bazunu and Leicester City's Danny Ward have let in more than his 39.

As well as De Gea, Man Utd's current crop of goalkeepers also include Tom Heaton and Jack Butland, with the latter on loan from Crystal Palace. Dean Henderson remains on the club's books, although there's reportedly an expectation that he will be sold permanently this summer in order to achieve regular first-team football.

The Englishman is currently sidelined through injury, with Paris Saint-Germain loanee Keylor Navas taking up duties as number one at Nottingham Forest.