Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has issued David De Gea with a timely reminder to remember how much trust Manchester United have put in him.
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With DDG’s contract running out in 2020 and his agent locked in talks with the Premier League club over a new deal, reports have surfaced stating that the Spanish goalkeeper wants to double his money.
Wage demands matching Alexis Sanchez’s $460,000 per week have been mentioned, and you can hardly argue with De Gea demanding that sort of cash considering he’s been United’s player of the season in four of the last five campaigns and the 28-year-old has been superb again this season.
Speaking to the media ahead of United’s clash with Southampton on Saturday (Watch live, 10 a.m. ET on NBCSN and online via NBCSports.com) at Old Trafford, Solskjaer was asked about De Gea’s contract situation.
“The club really showed how much they wanted him back in the day when Eric (Steele) and the gaffer found him. There were probably better keepers there at that time,” Solskjaer said. “But the belief the manager showed in him, given the criticism he got, paid dividends. Hopefully they will agree because David is the best goalkeeper in the world.”
Solskjaer added that “of course the club and David are in dialogue, so hopefully they’ll agree” and he was “sure we’ll do what we can.”
If this deal doesn’t get agreed soon, there’s a real chance De Gea could be sold in the summer with United looking to bag a big transfer fee. But where would he go?
Real Madrid spent big to bring Thibaut Courtois to the Santiago Bernabeu but he’s struggled, while De Gea’s former team Atletico have Jan Oblak in goal and Barcelona are very happy with Marc Andre ter Stegen. Paris Saint-Germain have veteran Gianluigi Buffon in goal, while Juventus have Woijech Sczesny, so those are two realistic landing spots if he can’t agree a new deal with United.
Solskjaer is correct though. Remember when De Gea was thrust into the spotlight as a teenager and was heavily criticized for some high-profile mistakes? Sir Alex Ferguson stood by him and defended DDG against critics pointing to his lack of physical strength and ability to deal with crosses.
That faith has seen De Gea become one of the best goalkeepers in the world and he is adored at United. Of course, none of that means that he has to sign a new contract, but this whole loyalty thing works both ways, right?
