Louis van Gaal has said that he had to sign Sergio Romero because of the uncertainty surrounding David de Gea’s future with the player still looking to secure a move to Real Madrid.
David de Gea was widely expected to swap Old Trafford for the Bernabeu this summer after the goalkeeper refused a reported A?200,000-per-week offer to stay at Manchester United.
It was also reported earlier by reliable papers like the Times, that Manchester United were all but resigned to losing their goalkeeper and believe that only a u-turn equivalent to what Wayne Rooney did to sign a contract in 2010 will prevent the Spain goalkeeper from joining Real Madrid.
Reports in the Telegraph said that Manchester United had taken a very hard stance in terms of negotiation, making it clear toReal Madrid that they are prepared to run down the contract of David De Gea, which has only one year to go, rather than selling them the goalkeeper this season should they not sign Sergio Ramos.
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The deal seemed to have now hit a roadblock with theSpanish giants refusing to let their captain go.
Romero signed as a fail-safe should De Gea move to Real Madrid
However, van Gaal’s statement has once again thrown in doubt claims that Manchester United will not sell the player.
“I think that in our circumstances, with the threat that David de Gea is going to Real Madrid, we have to prepare our season and I think Sergio Romero can fulfil that because you have to handle very quickly when it may happen with David de Gea,” the Manchester United manager said.
Romero has 62 international caps for Argentina and was signed by the Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal during his time in charge of Dutch outfit AZ Alkmaar. The duo won the Eredivisie title in his second and van Gaala s final season in charge of the Dutch outfit.
Romero was on loan from Roma to Monaco last season where he featured only on 11 occasions but the stopper did play in all six of Argentinaa s matches at the 2015 Copa America as they finished as runners-up to hosts Chile.
What the Romero move means for De Gea
Having hit a roadblock in the De Gea deal, Benitez had come out and said that he is prepared to make Keylor Navas their number one goalkeeper and the club does not need another goalkeeper.
Asked if Navas has the quality required to be a regular for Real Madrid, Benitez said: a I think so, yes, we wanted to give him the chance to play and prove himself and he has done well.a
Benitez gave a hint that Real Madrid no longer needed to sign De Gea as he did not see the need for another goalkeeper.
a I only need one goalkeeper on each match, and as long as I have one, Ia m happy,a Benitez was quoted saying.
The de Gea situation is becoming a cat and mouse game. Benitez and Real Madrid have indicated that they are prepared to sign the goalkeeper on a free transfer but will not sell Sergio Ramos, with Manchester United first adapting a hard stance to it but with the Romero signing, and the statement from Van Gaal, are giving indication that they maybe ready to swallow the bitter pill and sell the goalkeeper rather than losing out on 20million GBP fee that he would command.