Manchester United
Premier League • England
Man Utd icon lined up for immediate big-money Saudi switch as details emerge of La Liga transfer breakdown
David De Gea is wanted by Saudi Arabian sides after talks on a move to LaLiga broke down
Former Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea is still on the lookout for his next club with the Spanish star yet to decide upon his next move.
The transfer saga surrounding De Gea and Man Utd finally came to an end this summer as the 32-year-old called it quits on his Old Trafford career.
Despite winning the Premier League Golden Glove, it was obvious that Erik ten Hag wanted to sign a new goalkeeper with a greater ability on the ball.
The Reds eventually snapped up Andre Onana and De Gea has been on the lookout for a new club all summer. Plenty of clubs have registered an interest, but no deal has yet gone through.
As the 32-year-old is currently a free agent, he will be able to sign for clubs outside of the regular transfer window. While the experienced goalkeeper can take his time, he will want to decide upon his next club sooner rather than later.
Bayern Munich and Real Madrid were both interested in the goalkeeper over the summer, but these clubs ultimately decided to pursue other deals.
A move to Saudi Arabia has also been on the cards for quite some time and according to a recent report, their interest has been ‘revived’ of late.
As reported by Football Espana, interest from the Saudi Pro League is expected to be ‘revived’ in the coming days as the goalkeeper eyes a fresh challenge. And despite his free-agent status, De Gea is likely to command hefty wages by moving to the Gulf State.
Plenty of Premier League stars have made the move to Saudi this summer and this option now seems like a real possibility for De Gea.
La Liga return could be difficult
There’s every chance that De Gea could be holding out for a big offer to come in from a European club, but this could be risky as he can only afford to wait for so long.
Earlier this summer it came to light that De Gea’s ‘dream move’ would have been to sign for Real Madrid. However, the Spanish giants instead decided to pursue a deal for Chelsea’s Kepa Arrizabalaga.
The Spanish goalkeeper seems keen on a return to La Liga, but this has proven difficult so far. As the goalkeeper is seemingly holding out for a lucrative contract, clubs from Spain haven’t managed to match his wage demands.
De Gea is looking for an after-tax annual salary of £8.7m according to the Daily Record and this is more than La Liga clubs are prepared to offer at this stage.
Earlier this summer it was claimed that a return to La Liga was De Gea’s ‘preference’ but this is understood to be difficult at this stage.
If the goalkeeper does fancy a move to Saudi Arabia, he will likely earn more than the £8.7m he is after. Plenty of lucrative deals have been handed out this summer by Saudi clubs and the new challenge could be of interest to De Gea.
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