How’s that for an incredibly bad pun? You’ll have to forgive me. It quite possibly is nothing more than caffeine induced glee at the news that De Gea has signed an extension with United. While fans in the UK, and elsewhere in the world, have known for many hours; it is the natural consequence of existing eight hours behind in my neck of the woods.
I somewhat expected this would be announced very soon, but a day removed from my last post in which the presence of his agent, Jorge Mendes, being seen at Carrington was a bit of a shock. It’s quite the turnaround and should exemplify nothing more, if anything at all, how quickly things change in the football world. Mere weeks ago there was a row between manager and player due to his being left off the bench, followed by a last minute ‘attempt’ (I use that term loosely – more in a bit) to sell him to Real, to a multi-year extension.
What we know is the deal is a four year extension with an option for a fifth. If previous, and frequently seen, reports are accurate, it is quite likely the wages exist in the region of £200K per week, making De Gea the best paid keeper in the world. United, for their part, are not disclosing if a release fee has been included in the contract and, given the recent memories of Real’s attempt to buy De Gea, will likely keep this card close to their chest.
Undoubtedly, Real will likely still want the player and it remains to be seen how, or if, the clubs would ever return to the bargaining table. This news must come as salt in the wound for Florentino Perez. However the deal fell flat, there must have been some consolation in knowing Real would wait but four months before they’d be open to talk to De Gea and strike a pre-contract agreement for a free transfer next summer. No longer the case, it would seem Ed Woodward has won his battle with the giants of Madrid. Some would speculate that United’s efforts was to use De Gea as a bargaining chip to land Bale, however somewhat true; it appears Bale was never the realistic target as his agent has made it clear Bale is determined to stay at Real – once again.
Now that this deal has been made official by both club and player, the big question now becomes when does he return to action? Many believe this weekend is the perfect environment to do so when United host Liverpool. Van Gaal confirmed to the media that De Gea would be considered for selection and, as always with the manager, the player’s displays in training will dictate their placement in the starting XI or the reserves.
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