Chelsea does not seem to be an appealing option for former Manchester United shot-stopper David de Gea as his potential next club.
According to Dean Jones via GIVEMESPORT, David de Gea might not prefer joining Chelsea because of the competition for places. The Spanish international has been a free agent since parting ways with Manchester United in the summer and he has been linked with Chelsea of late.
De Gea joined United back in the summer of 2011 and was a part of their first team for over a decade. The 33-year-old was the mainstay of their team for quite a few years. He enjoyed quite a lot of success with the club in the initial years but over the past few seasons, he was struggling for form at times.
He parted ways with the Red Devils in the summer as his contract with the club came to an end. While reports suggested that he was all set to pen down an extension, the Manchester-based club withdrew the offer. He was offered a new deal but those terms were not what the Spanish international wanted.
As a result, he left the club and has been a free agent since. According to Jones, his lofty wage demands are one of the reasons why he is still a free agent. He believes the fact that he hasn’t played football for a while now and was known to be error-prone towards the last few seasons might have also played a big role in him not having many options on his table.
Jones said: “It’s very easy to say, ‘Why has nobody signed de Gea?’ Then you remember that he was one of Man Utd’s highest earners, and as a free agent, how much will it cost to have somebody like that on your books? He hasn’t played football for a long time now. At United, he was considered, at times, to be error-prone anyway. So, if he hasn’t played for a long time, and he’s coming into the heat of the Premier League again, how long will it take to see the best version of de Gea? Is it going to be something that you can rely on?
“I don’t think de Gea will go into any club, to be honest, looking to be a number two. I don’t think that’s going to interest him. So, the competition for places at Chelsea probably wouldn’t be something he would want. But he must start playing football again soon; otherwise, we’re talking about a player heading to premature retirement. So, it’ll be interesting to see what crops up, but I don’t think it’ll be at Chelsea.”
Meanwhile, the player has been linked with a move to Chelsea. But, Jones feels he is unlikely to join the Blues because he wouldn’t want to fight for his place in the team. the 33-year-old would prefer to be a number one elsewhere rather than compete for a spot with the London club’s summer signing Robert Sanchez.
The Blues went big yet again in the summer on player transfers. They underwent a major overhaul between the sticks as they signed Sanchez from Brighton for a fee of £25m million and added Djordje Petrovic from New England Revolution for £14 million.
While Chelsea feel Sanchez might not be their ideal first-choice keeper and are on the lookout for another shot-stopper, De Gea is still unlikely to risk joining the Blues.
