David de Gea set to become a free agent with Man Utd contract expiring
- Talks over a new contract have dragged on for months
- United agreed a deal with De Gea only to change the terms
- Erik ten Hag is keen to sign another goalkeeper; Andre Onana is a target
David de Gea will technically become a free agent once the clock strikes midnight on Saturday as contract negotiations with Manchester United rumble on.
The Spaniard has been at Old Trafford for 12 seasons, racking up a mammoth 545 appearances in all competitions in that time, but his future at the club has never been more uncertain.
The 32-year-old won the Premier League's Golden Glove last season - an award for the most clean sheets in the division - but also made a number of glaring errors while proving wholly unreliable with his kicking.
It's led to intense speculation over whether manager Erik ten Hag will keep him on between the sticks, with particular focus on the £375,000-a-week wages his current contract pays out.
90min reported on Tuesday that United had agreed with De Gea to reduce his terms down to around £200,000-a-week - something the goalkeeper agreed to do. But United then opted to change the terms of the deal after the Spaniard had signed, further reducing his remuneration and leading to the stalemate that currently exists.
United have started to intensify their search for alternatives to De Gea, with focus shifting towards Inter's Andre Onana of late. The Red Devils have engaged in talks with the Champions League finalists over a potential deal, knowing Inter need to raise money this summer through player sales.
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One thing that works in Onana's favour is that he's worked with Ten Hag before at Ajax, and it's very unlikely that he'd arrive in Manchester to serve as understudy to De Gea.
Porto's Diogo Costa is another option for United - the Portuguese giants also need to generate money through player sales to comply with FFP regulations - but Onana is viewed as United's preferred option at this stage.
De Gea could yet sign a new contract to remain at United, but he could also choose to take up the riches on offer to him from Saudi Arabia. 90min revealed at the beginning of June that an offer had been put to forward to De Gea, though at the time he had no desire to move to the Middle East.
However, that decision was made when there was more certainty around De Gea remaining as United's number one goalkeeper. With Ten Hag and United now actively looking for a new stopper, he could get revisit the proposal having seen a number of high-profile Premier League players opt to follow in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.
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