Fabrizio Romano confirms shock David de Gea decision

Tom Weber

Updated: 29 Jul 2024 18:39 BST
3 min read

Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that David de Gea will not join Genoa.

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Last week, shock links emerged associating the former Man Utd goalkeeper with a surprising move to Serie A side Genoa. It was claimed that the Italian club had initiated talks with the Spaniard and that he was open to joining them.

Just a day later, however, local media began reporting that this was actually not the case. Instead, De Gea had been offered to Genoa by an intermediary looking to help the 33-year-old find a new club after more than a year of free agency.

It was reported that Genoa had little interest in signing De Gea despite appreciating that his arrival could have created a significant media buzz around the club. However, the fact of the matter was that due to his age, likely salary, playing style and lack of competitive football, the shot-stopper did not fit the club's transfer policy and a move was deemed unlikely.

Romano confirms De Gea decision

Fabrizio Romano has now confirmed that De Gea won't be joining Genoa, insisting that a deal was never particularly close or advanced, though he did not reveal whether there had been tentative interest or contact from either side, which would have been an illuminating piece of information.

Instead of De Gea, Genoa are set to sign former Tottenham goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini. The 29-year-old is set to join the club from Serie A rivals Atalanta and is due to complete his medical today.

Gollini spent the previous season on loan at Napoli, making 14 appearances. Intriguingly, he actually spent time together with De Gea on the books at Man Utd, though not in the same age group. Between 2012 and 2014, the Italian spent two years in the Red Devils' youth system.