Man Utd eye shock return for record-breaking former player

Manchester United have been tipped to make a shock move to bring David De Gea back to Old Trafford this summer.

The Spanish goalkeeper enjoyed 12 largely successful years at United before his contract was allowed to expire in the summer of 2023. After playing a role in the club's most recent Premier League-winning campaign back in 2013, De Gea routinely proved to be one of the club's best-performing players during the post-Sir Alex Ferguson malaise.

No individual in United's glittering history can better De Gea's record of being crowned the club's Player of the Season on four separate occasions.

It was generally accepted that De Gea's time at the top had come to a natural end when he left Manchester almost two years ago, but the Red Devils are now thought to "regret" that decision, according to SPORT.

The report claims that United are planning to offer De Gea a new contract when his one-year deal with Fiorentina expires in the summer. The Premier League club have supposedly lost confidence in Andre Onana, the number one who replaced his Spanish counterpart in 2023, and are widely expected to sign a new goalkeeper this summer.

Whether De Gea will immediately jump to the front of the shot-stopping pecking order or serve as an experienced understudy to Onana remains to be seen. Based upon his stellar performances for Fiorentina, the agile 34-year-old may be inclined to demand a first-team role.

Fiorentina have certainly been impressed by De Gea's displays. "The intention is to keep players like De Gea and [Nicolo] Fagioli but I don't want to say more. We'll see if they also want to stay, so we can start next year with an even stronger team," The Serie A side's owner Rocco B Commisso told SkySports24 recently.

"It's true that we're not the first, second or third team in Italy but what we have we defend and I don't need those who come to tell me that they are the strongest and the 'kings of Italian football' to take who they want. That won't happen with me." English footballing royalty may have more luck.

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