Man Utd U-turn on De Gea's contract

Stuart Telford

• Updated: 27 Jun 2023 16:24 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester United have reportedly U-turned on their decision to offer David de Gea a new two-year contract worth £200,000 a week.

De Gea's position as Man Utd No.1 is already under pressure as the club are in the market for a new goalkeeper with discussions underway with Inter Milan shot-stopper Andre Onana's entourage.

Currently the best-paid goalkeeper in the world on £375,000 a week and the highest-earning Spaniard, it was understood that United had offered De Gea fresh terms of £200,000 a week, but the club have reneged on this deal.

READ: Man Utd on alert as Inter identify Onana replacement

"David de Gea signed a contract extension with Manchester United only for the club to back out of the agreed proposal," report Dan Sheldonn and Guilllermo Rai for The Athletic. " And they have now submitted a new proposal to De Gea, whose contract expires on 30 June, with an even lower salary."

Golden Gloves?

What the new salary is isn't stated in their report, but it is clear that De Gea's standing at Old Trafford has diminished significantly, even if he won the Premier League's Golden Glove last season with 17 clean sheets.

Clean sheets can be a collective effort anyway, but even if De Gea remains a good shot-stopper, his ability with the ball at his feet has been called into questions in recent season, and even more so with Ten Hag installed as coach.

READ: Man Utd make move for MLS goalkeeper

As was evidenced in Inter's narrow Champions League final defeat to Manchester City recently, Onana is a ball-playing goalkeeper par excellence, and one who won the Dutch domestic treble under Ten Hag at Ajax in 2019.

Inter reportedly want €50m to part ways with Onana, and New England Revolution's Djordje Petrovic is a significantly cheaper alternative.

De Gea's future at Old Trafford looks bleak either way, and the chances now are that he will be sold, with suitors in Saudi Arabia said to be circling.