United Demand £66m For De Gea, Or £43m If Their Target Is Included
REUTERS/Antonio Bronic
Manchester United have informed Real Madrid that they value David De Gea at £66m and will not allow the goalkeeper to leave Old Trafford unless the Spanish champions meet that asking price — or include one of Jose Mourinho’s summer transfer targets in the deal.
Mourinho has been looking to find a replacement for Zlatan Ibrahimovic,who remains injured with a double cruciate ligament rupture without having agreed to a contract extension.
The Portuguese is looking at Alvaro Morata as a primary target for the role. The Spanish forward is valued highly by Jose, and his inclusion in the deal might mean Real can bag De Gea for £43m, according to the Sunday Times.
United’s valuation of the Spanish stopper is twice the existing world record for a goalkeeper. Juventus paid £33m to Parma for Gianluigi Buffon in 2001, then setting a record that still stands. This clearly shows how highly De Gea is valued.
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The former Atletico Madrid man has been voted the Premier League’s best goalkeeper for the past three seasons. He was also the Red Devils’ standout player during the rough time after Sir Alex Ferguson left, winning their Player of the Year award for three consecutive seasons.
The English giants, however, do not wish a repeat of the 2015 deadline day drama. Mourinho had already asked the Spanish international if he wanted a move back to Madrid several weeks ago, and the 26-year-old admitted to the former Chelsea manager that he would want such a move some time in his career.
De Gea’s relationship with Mourinho is said to be strong, which has put sources close to him at a doubt over when he wants the move to the Bernabeu. Moreover, his present contract expires in 2019 with an option to extend for a further year.
Mourinho is also viewing this transfer window as critical. Even though Marcus Rashford has proven himself to be capable, he is looking for a replacement for Ibrahimovic, and high on his target list is Morata.
Reuters / Tony Gentile
The duo had worked together at Real Madrid, where Mourinho handed the 24-year-old his debut. He also used the then teenager 14 times in the La Liga.
After Jose left, Morata was sold to Juventus for £18m. He shone at the Italian club and Real decided to bring him back by exercising a buy-back clause to grab him for £26m.
Morata scored 15 times in 26 league games this season, as Madrid won the title for the first time in five years. However, Karim Benzema remains the first-choice option, and the youngster would look to move on to gain more playing time.