In the media on Thursday, it was reported that Manchester United may sacrifice David De Gea in order to raise the funds for a summer transfer spree. I laughed when I read it. Why would a club like United need to sell a player in order to find transfers and exactly how much does the media think De Gea is worth, not to mention which could would buy him.
De Gea has been great for United but soon to be entering his 30s, there is no guarantee that he will find the form that got him labelled as one of the best goalkeepers in world football, and keep it. United do need to be seeking out the future in the position and that is not Sergio Romero either. Dean Henderson is the player that will set United up there.
United have been linked to a number of players already and the January transfer window only closed four weeks ago. The names that keep being linked are Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish, Leicester City’s James Maddison, and Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho. Obviously, this will be a massive fee to sign this trio but would make a statement.
Goal have stated that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would be willing to let De Gea leave the club this summer, raising some money to fund his transfer targets. However, with that being said, there are some necessary departures that should happen before De Gea is allowed to leave the Theatre of Dreams.
Alexis Sanchez, Chris Smalling, Joel Pereira, Marcos Rojo, Phil Jones, Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba, Andreas Pereira, Jesse Lingard et al should all be gone before De Gea is allowed to leave. De Gea has been a great servant for the Old Trafford club and has a contract until the summer of 2023, which could be extended for a further year.
It is great that Dean Henderson is doing so well at Sheffield United in their first season back in the Premier League but with him having De Gea to learn from in training, it will see him find a much firmer grip into the position and United do not need another setback like they had during the period of Fabien Barthez, Mark Bosnich, Tim Howard etc before signing Edwin van der Sar.
If United need the money, selling the likes of Pogba, Sanchez, Rojo – who do not seem to want to be at the club would be the best way. United should be keeping players who want to be at the club. Selling Pogba for £90 million, at this moment in time, would be good business for the club as it seems clear he will not play football again this season.
De Gea may have lost form in the last season or so but so have United. Form is temporary and class is permanent – this should be remembered more. Recently, with United’s return to form, De Gea’s form has been improving. This may command a bigger fee for the player or it may rest that the player will remain at United.
It would be a shame if De Gea was sold, but one of the richest clubs in the world, to fund future transfers. It would weaken United’s defence, which could blow up in their faces if Henderson was not ready for the pressure at United, as it would be much different to the pressure in Sheffield. Funding transfer by getting rid of players who have no future at the club is the best way, first of all.
