Of all the questions asked of the new regime at Manchester United recently, those concerning a new contract for David de Gea are among the most pertinent. Since Sir Alex Ferguson shut his office door behind him for the last time 18 months ago, the United goalkeeper has perhaps been the club’s most important player.
Now De Gea has a recognised No 2 to compete with, in keeping with the modern trend in the Barclays Premier League. Instead of Scandinavian makeweight Anders Lindegaard, De Gea will soon have a three-time Champions League winner and Spanish international watching him from
the substitutes’ bench.
Louis van Gaal loses his rag over the future of David de Gea. Certainly the De Gea/Victor Valdes dynamic will be an interesting one over the coming weeks. Valdes has only recently recovered from a serious knee injury but has not signed an 18-month contract at United just to pick his nose — to steal a memorable Lindegaard quote — and his relationship with manager Louis van Gaal and goalkeeping coach Frans Hoek is one that stretches back to the day 12 years ago when he was given his debut at Barcelona. Valdes will seek to play over the coming weeks but the wider issue — that of De Gea’s own future in Manchester — remains unclear; his current contract expires at the end of next season, with Real Madrid known to be interested. United chief executive Ed Woodward and De Gea’s agent Jorge Mendes have already spoken and it is understood that official meetings are now planned to accelerate the process.
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