Manchester United could lose one of their best players in David de Gea in the summer as the Spanish no.1 goalkeeper has reportedly asked Manchester United officials to sell him to Real Madrid. This is the second time in two years Real Madrid have tried to sign De Gea with the move falling through the first time in 2015 due to a faulty fax machine.
After the fax machine issue in 2015, De Gea went on to sign a new and better deal at Manchester United and since then he has undoubtedly established himself as one of the best goalkeepers in the world.
This time, however, Real Madrid are determined to avoid another fax machine slip up and have initiated "operation De Gea" in the hopes of landing him in the summer. Reports suggest Zinedine Zidane is still not entirely convinced with current goalkeeper Keylor Navas and wants to bring in a world class keeper.
Meanwhile, De Gea has reportedly told Manchester United officials three weeks ago about his desire to move to the Spanish capital and pleaded with the club to negotiate a transfer. It might be a coincidence but this was the same time De Gea was dropped from the Manchester United team against Sunderland on April 9 citing a hip problem.
Real Madrid know landing De Gea would require them to pay a huge transfer fee, most likely in the range of £59-63 million. The Spaniard also put up his £3.85m luxury home in Bowdon up for sale recently hinting at a possible move to Real Madrid.
Jose Mourinho's interest in two Real Madrid's out of favor players, Alvaro Morata and James Rodriguez, will play a key role in the negotiations for De Gea's transfer.
Losing De Gea will probably hurt Manchester United fans a lot given how outstanding he has been for them over the years. The former Atletico Madrid goalkeeper has made a number of outstanding saves at crucial games to earn Red Devils valuable points over the years and replacing him will not be easy.
However, Mourinho has already identified a few goalkeepers in Joe Hart, Jan Oblak and teenage sensation Gianlugii Donnarumma.
Signing Donnarumma might prove difficult for Manchester United, but the likes of Hart and Oblak could join the Red Devils. Pep Guardiola looks set to sell Hart in the summer. Though the club didn't allow him to join a Premier League club last summer, things could change this time around, given his years of service for Manchester City.
As far as Oblak's move to Manchester United goes, the Slovenian is one of the most promising goalkeepers in the world at the moment and was La Liga's best goalkeeper last season conceding just 18 goals. Reports say Atletico Madrid's representatives were in the UK to discuss a possible move to Manchester United.
Check out some of David de Gea's best saves for Manchester United so far this season.
