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Manchester United At Risk Of Losing David De Gea

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On the last day of August 2015 David De Gea believed he was about to be a Real Madrid player for a few fleeting hours.

The Spanish goalkeeper had excelled at Manchester United for the previous four seasons, but now wanted to return to his home city of Madrid.

He wanted to be near his family and girlfriend in the Spanish capital, and so when Real Madrid made him an offer he gratefully accepted.

It was a natural fit for Spain’s best goalkeeper to play for Spain’s biggest team.

Manchester United did not want to lose him, but reluctantly accepted a bid of £29 million, and were due to sign Real’s keeper Keylor Navas as his direct replacement.

On August 31st, the final day of the transfer window, all three parties, United, Real Madrid and De Gea expected the deal to go through.

But an administrative error, with Real failing to submit the transfer paperwork before the deadline, meant the deal collapsed, forcing De Gea to unpack his bags and remain in Manchester.

This was De Gea’s sliding doors moment, and in the following three seasons he has found himself shut outside, forced to watch Real Madrid win three consecutive Champions League titles. 

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During this time, the furthest United have been in the Champions League is the round of sixteen last season, and in the 2016-17 season they were not even in the competition.

De Gea would naturally have let his mind wonder and consider what would have been if his move to Madrid had gone through, and how he might now have three Champions League winners medals.

In the days after his aborted move to Madrid, United soothed De Gea’s annoyance by giving him a lucrative new 4-year contract.

To De Gea’s great credit, he never let his disappointment be known, and continued his rise to become the best goalkeeper in the world.

And United have still enjoyed success with him in goal, winning the FA Cup in 2016, and the League Cup and Europa League in 2017.

But this existing contract from 2015 only has one more year to run, and once again De Gea has a choice to make: does he stay or go?

While United have the option to extend De Gea’s contract by another year, they know that if he doesn’t renew it they could be forced to sell him this coming summer to avoid losing him for nothing the following year.

While Real Madrid signed Thibaut Courtois in the summer from Chelsea they would still be interested if De Gea wanted to leave Manchester, while Juventus are also monitoring the situation. 

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Goalkeepers are no longer the poor relations of the transfer market, with the world record for signing one being broken twice last summer, first when Alisson Becker moved to Liverpool from Roma for £66.9 million, and then when Chelsea signed Kepa Arrizabalaga from Athletic Bilbao for £71.6 million

De Gea should command an even higher transfer fee than both of them, but if he holds out and doesn't sign a new contract at United he could be bought for a bargain fee, or even nothing. 

Manchester United naturally want him to stay and it is reported they have already offered him a new contract worth around £275,000 a week.  

The only problem is De Gea is not convinced that he wants to sign this contract and remain at United.

He wants a side that befits his incredible talent, and one who are competing for both their domestic title and the Champions League every season.

Having seen United largely tread water for the previous three seasons, it will now be even harder to persuade him to stay this time.

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And so De Gea’s future represents a huge issue for United, and a test of whether they can retain their best players and prove to them they can fulfil their full potential at Old Trafford.

The best sales pitch United could make to De Gea is to start winning games and moving up the table, but after losing 3-1 to Manchester City at the weekend they are currently eighth and twelve points from the summit.

De Gea has only won the title once in England, back in 2013, but of even greater concern is that in the following five seasons he has not even been involved in a title race, and that shows no sign of changing this season.

The Spaniard might come to the perfectly rational conclusion that it is currently getting worse and not better at Old Trafford.

De Gea is too good a keeper to play for a side that merely sneaks in to the top four to gain a place in the Champions League; he wants to play for a side that has a genuine chance of winning it.  

Manchester United know they have a fight on their hands convincing him to stay with them; and it is a fight that could define the future of the club.