Italian outlet CalcioMercato reports that Juventus could be looking to sign Manchester United star goalkeeper David De Gea next summer. Juventus has had dealings with the English club before, most recently signing Paul Pogba on a free transfer. While De Gea is one of the best goalkeepers in Europe, he is not very skilled with the ball – a deficiency that makes him slightly out of place in Ten Hag’s team. He will be out of contract next summer, and Juventus may swoop in to sign him. This move – if it happens – will influence most fans’ decisions in picking their favourite player for fantasy football as well as odds on top betting sites like Joe Fortune. Let’s look at De Gea’s profile, contract with Man United, and possible future with Juventus.
De Gea’s Rep at Man United
At only 18, De Gea became Atletico’s first-choice goalkeeper, helping the club win the UEFA Super Cup and EUFA Europa League in 2010. This remarkable stint drew the attention of the Red Devils, who bought the player in June 2011 for a whopping £18.9 million. Since then, De Gea has established himself as Old Trafford’s first-choice goalkeeper for over a decade.
As a Manchester United player, De Gea has made over 450 appearances and clinched the UEFA Europa League, three Community Shields, a League Cup, an FA Cup, and a Premier League title. He was elected as the team’s Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year for three consecutive years between 2013 and 2016, becoming the first player to win on three successive occasions in the award’s history.
De Gea experienced a dip in his career in the late 2010s but seemed to have revamped his form. He is widely considered one of the most important Man United players in recent times.
De Gea’s Man United Contract
De Gea has had one of the longest careers with the Manchester United club of any current player. The 31-year-old goalkeeper has a valid contract with the team that, according to transfermarkt, expires in 2023. The Red Devils could extend De Gea’s contract by another year or offer him another long-term deal. However, his lack of skill with his feet has seen him suffer this season, even as Erik Ten Hag insists on all his players, including goalkeepers, being skilled with the ball.
Ideally, the Red Devils should be able to receive a transfer fee for De Gea, but his contract ending next summer means they are likely to lose him on a free transfer. AT only 31, the goalkeeper is still very young and has a long goalkeeping career ahead of him. This could be good news for Juventus.
Whether Juventus gets De Gea or Manchester United gets to keep him will depend on how contract talks go between De Gea and the club. The Spaniard would not be short of suitors, nonetheless, if he decided to move on from the Red Devils.
De Gea’s Playing Style
De Gea was widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world during the mid-2010s. He is noted for his speed when running off his line during one-on-one plays, making him an excellent sweeper-keeper. However, over the years, experts have noted that De Gea tends to stay in his area for longer and come out to sweep less often than other Premier League goalkeepers. In 2020, Mark Ogden of ESPN criticized this change of play as ineffective.
Another 2020 article in the Irish Times noted that sweeping was not a natural element of De Gea’s gameplay and that the keeper tended to sit deeper with the Red Devils compared to his position with the Spain national team. Spain plays with a higher line, which might explain De Gea’s loss of form and less than impressive performance during the 2018 World Cup.
Goalkeeping skills aside, De Gea has been hailed for his masterful vision, ball control, and distribution with both feet, which allows him to begin attacking plays from the back. That Spaniard explained that his goalkeeping coach, Frans Hoek, helped him develop these skills.
De Gea has had some difficulties in recent seasons due to his lack of confidence with the ball and passing skills. As football evolves, more and more teams expect their goalkeepers to be comfortable with the ball at their feet – a skill Ten Hag insists on for his team. This does not come naturally to De Gea, however, making it difficult to mesh his game with the rest of the Manchester United team. Since Juventus is more relaxed on this, De Gea could fit right in with the team.
Conclusion
If Manchester United fails to renew his contract next summer, the long-standing Red Devils goalkeeper could find himself in Juventus. Juventus is one in a long list of clubs that will be lining up to get De Gea, possibly on a free transfer. We wait to see how the contract negotiations go.
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