Rumours of a summer transfer for David De Gea have begun to gather pace over the last few weeks, with the current Manchester United goalkeeper once again reported to be a target for Spanish giants Real Madrid. Parts of the club’s fanbase are resigned to seeing the former Atletico Madrid shotstopper leave when the transfer window opens, with the botched deal to take him to the Bernabeu in 2015 only seemingly serving in delaying the inevitable, given the pull of the Spanish capital and the country’s biggest club over the North West of England and United.
But one of De Gea’s colleagues and closest friends at Old Trafford has urged his compatriot in the Spanish national side to remain at the club, and become a United legend in the process. Ander Herrera, who himself joined the Red Devils in 2014 from Athletic Bilbao and has quickly become a fan favourite, has sung De Gea’s praises in a recent interview with Spanish publication Marca. The Madrid-based paper has published several pieces suggesting that a move to Real is on the cards this summer, but Herrera hopes to see United’s no.1 remain at the club:
“He is the very best goalkeeper in the Premier League for me,” said Herrera in quotes translated by Sport Witness, “and for many people. He was named again the best goalkeeper in the league, and that’s been the case for four years.”
“He’s been at the club for six years. He’s very close to the number of games (former United goalkeeper Edwin) Van der Sar played and he can become a legend. People here love him very much. There are few goalkeepers in the world who give you points and David is one of them.”
It’s no surprise to hear that Herrera has publicly praised his United teammate; De Gea has built up a reputation as one of world football’s best goalkeepers during his time at the club, and has been voted as United’s Player of the Year for three consecutive seasons after some stunning performances under David Moyes and Louis van Gaal. During Jose Mourinho’s first season in charge, De Gea has arguably been called upon far less, thanks to the increased defensive stability that the Portuguese has brought to this side, but the Spaniard’s quality and importance to United still remains high.
After Real Madrid’s last attempt to sign the player ended in farcical circumstances in 2015, with both clubs blaming each other after documents weren’t provided to complete the deal on transfer deadline day, there has been a feeling amongst United fans that De Gea would eventually end up at Los Blancos. Should the player wish to make the move, it’s clear that Real would have to fork out a world-record fee for a goalkeeper in order to convince United to do business, which would certainly help when it comes to finding a replacement. De Gea will be the first player that the bookies will be likely to offer odds on to leave the club, you can Click here to view some of those odds around the internet. If it comes to pass, United fans would certainly lament his exit, but at this stage, with Mourinho in charge and the club clearly willing to spend big on the world’s best players, De Gea’s departure wouldn’t be nearly as damaging as it would have been at any point in the last few seasons.