Manchester United Reportedly Considering Bringing David de Gea Back to the Club
Manchester United is reportedly considering a surprising U-turn by bringing goalkeeper David de Gea back to the club. This comes just a few months after the club released him. De Gea, who spent 12 seasons at Old Trafford and won the club’s Player of the Year award four times, was criticized for the way he was treated during his departure.
The decision to release De Gea was met with backlash, especially after the club signed Andre Onana as his replacement. However, Onana has struggled to fill De Gea’s shoes, making several mistakes in his performances. Despite a recent redemption in the Champions League win over Copenhagen, where he saved a stoppage-time penalty, Onana’s overall performance has been underwhelming.
According to The Sun, United has also been left reeling by Onana’s decision to end his international retirement. Onana had left the Cameroon setup after a falling out with head coach Rigobert Song during the World Cup in Qatar last year. However, he recently ended his exile to help the side qualify for the African Cup of Nations.
United is now concerned that they might lose their number one goalkeeper if Cameroon makes it to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations. Onana could potentially miss as many as nine games at the start of 2024. To mitigate this risk, United is planning to bring De Gea back to the club on a free transfer.
Currently, United’s options in goal include summer recruit Altay Bayindir and veteran Tom Heaton. However, manager Erik ten Hag would prefer to have De Gea between the sticks for a run of important games against top teams like Tottenham, Wolves, and Aston Villa.
It is unclear whether De Gea would entertain a return to United, but he has been spotted watching the United women’s team recently and has met up with captain Bruno Fernandes. Despite receiving offers from other clubs, De Gea has not signed with anyone yet and could potentially accept a short-term deal until the end of the season.
Bringing De Gea back to the club would not only provide United with a more dependable goalkeeper but also give De Gea the chance to have a proper send-off that he was denied when he left the club in the summer.
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