David de Gea set to leave Manchester United

Manchester United face the prospect of losing goalkeeper David de Gea for nothing at the end of the season.

The Sun reports that the 28-year-old Spanish international had provisionally agreed a deal that would see him earn around £350,000 a week. That would be an easier deal now that top earner Alexis Sanchez has been booted out to Inter Milan, for at least a season.

His current deal ends at the end of the season, and despite the proposed new contract, he has not signed anything and that means that he can talk to clubs based abroad in January. He has been linked to Paris Saint-Germain, though they have recruited Keylor Navas this summer from Real Madrid.

Another mooted destination was Real Madrid, but they have Thibaut Courtois in place for the long term. That leaves Juventus, who have brought in Gianluigi Buffon from PSG, but on a one-year deal as he is expected to move to the technical side of the club at the end of the season.

Their first team choice is Wojciech Szczesny, the Polish goalkeeper who was previously at Arsenal. While a reliable ‘keeper he is nowhere near De Gea’s best.

From United’s point of view, De Gea’s form has fallen off over the last few months to the point that he is no longer reliable and more of a liability than an asset. Of course he could recover his form, but there is perhaps a sense that this is a good time to try to boot him out in January and raise funds for a different option.