Manchester United are reportedly weighing up the prospect of bringing David de Gea back to the club just months after he departed Old Trafford.
According to The Sun, Manchester United want to re-sign David de Gea on a short-term deal and are trying to convince the Spanish goalkeeper to return to Old Trafford in the upcoming January transfer window.
De Gea would very certainly have extended his stay at Manchester United if given the opportunity, even on lower pay. Indeed, the veteran Spaniard was seemingly willing to negotiate lesser terms than his £350,000 a week deal, which had him down as one of the club’s top earners. After a lot of twists and turns in contract extension talks, he became a free agent.
Since then, de Gea has surprisingly not been able to find a new club despite keeping most Premier League clean sheets last term. Linked with a return to his native Spain with the likes of Real Betis and Real Sociedad, as well as big-spending clubs in Saudi Arabia, the 32-year-old remains a free agent some four months after his release.
Manchester United snapped up Andre Onana from Inter Milan, bringing the former Ajax man in for £47.2 million as de Gea’s successor. Onana has been Erik ten Hag’s first choice this season. He has endured a difficult start to his United career.
A string of high-profile blunders have raised serious questions over ten Hag’s judgement to let go de Gea. But the 27-year-old was the hero in their last outing against FC Copenhagen on Tuesday night with a fine penalty save in the dying embers of their 1-0 victory.
But now, The Sun claims the club are contemplating back-tracking their decision. The Red Devils are worried they will be short of goalkeepers when Onana heads to the Africa Cup of Nations with Cameroon in January and February.
The club did not anticipate Onana performing a U-turn on his international retirement when they recruited him in the summer. He quit the international scene in December 2022 after publicly disagreeing with head coach Rigobert Song.
However, that conflict has now been settled, with Onana announcing his intentions to return. The downside for Manchester United is that Onana will now miss a hefty chunk of the season and could miss as many as eight games if Cameroon go deep into the tournament. Although United signed Altay Bayindir in the summer, ten Hag is concerned that a lack of experience between the sticks may cost United dearly at a crucial juncture of the season.
To that end, they plan to turn back to De Gea and bring him in on a short-term contract to step in during Onana’s absence. What’s more, he has also been recently spotted enjoying some downtime at Old Trafford, attending a Manchester United women’s game, and meeting his former teammate Bruno Fernandes.
It remains to be seen whether de Gea will be open to returning to the club given that he will not be a confirmed starter week in, and week-out. And it will be intriguing to see how this story develops as we head closer to the winter window.
