David de Gea deflects Man Utd contract question one day after rejection claim
Man Utd goalkeeper David de Gea has issued a reminder that he loves the club but has been hesitant to go into detail about his contract situation.
On Wednesday, reports emerged that De Gea had rejected Man Utd’s opening offer of a contract extension. As things stand, he is due to become a free agent at the end of the season. On his current terms, Man Utd have no interest in activating their option to renew his deal by 12 months.
But they are open to keeping him beyond this season on a lower salary. According to The Athletic, De Gea did not agree with the value of their first offer.
Rumours have followed about Man Utd going in for a new goalkeeping target from the Bundesliga.
That said, there has still been a sense of confidence that Man Utd will eventually reach a positive conclusion by keeping De Gea. Erik ten Hag still has faith in him as number one, so further talks should follow.
Ultimately, the two parties could arrive at a compromise. But until then, there will be uncertainty surrounding De Gea’s future.
Now, the 32-year-old has confirmed he remains “really happy” at Old Trafford. However, he has swerved away from discussing his contract and believes there are more important matters to focus on.
“I’ve been here many, many years, enjoying every moment in this club playing many games,” De Gea told Sky Sports.
“Of course it’s great to be here, it’s a massive club. I love the club and I’m really happy here of course.
David de Gea shifts focus to next games
“It’s been the same over the years, a lot of noise about everything in this club but players just focus on games, especially the one we have on Sunday. It’s a massive game for us because we want to finish in the top four of course.
“Like I say, we have many, many games so I think we have to be really, really caring on training, recovering well, helping the team and that’s the most important thing, more than contracts or anything.”
The upcoming game De Gea was referring to is Man Utd’s trip to face fellow top-four contenders Newcastle on April 2.
To date, De Gea has started every possible Premier League match for Man Utd since Ten Hag took charge. Overall, he has more than 500 appearances to his name across all competitions from his time with the club.
Sooner or later, Man Utd will have to think about who will succeed De Gea in the long term. If they can’t agree upon a package to keep him, it might have to be a matter at the forefront of their minds.
But the alarm bells won’t be ringing too loudly just yet. De Gea has indicated he is still feeling positive about Man Utd as a club, so it wouldn’t be too surprising to see him come to an agreement with them at the end of this process.
On that front, though, there is still some work to do behind the scenes.
