Are Manchester United at risk of losing David De Gea to Real Madrid? David De Geas stock is on the rise, which has predictably led to speculation that Uniteds keeper could return to Spain to play for Real Madrid. David De Geas rise to becoming one of the best goalkeepers in the world is tinged with risk for Manchester United fans. The better he gets, the more likely he is to return to Spain. United fans were saddened by the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid in 2009, and while executive vice chairman Ed Woodward is adamant that United wont be beaten on price by any club in the world, the appeal of playing for footballs most successful club in your home city is clear. De Geas stock rose further after Iker Casillas was again at fault for his country as Spain were defeated in Slovakia on Thursday. De Gea was always likely to make his competitive debut against Luxembourg on Sunday and he did that in a 4-0 win. Casillas was hugely popular in his homeland, but the wish of many Spaniards is for De Gea to become the next Casillas -- someone who wears the goalkeeper shirt for a decade or more. A fading Casillas will see demand for Madrid to bring in a top goalkeeper, despite the summer signing of Keylor Navas. The man likely to be the best on the planet is from Madrid and Marca -- Real Madrids principal cheerleader in the Spanish media -- ran the De Gea to Madrid story at the weekend. Madrid are aware that De Gea, who turns 24 next month, is out of contract in 2016. United havent started contract talks with De Geas agent, Jorge Mendes. There were informal talks last season (when De Gea was named the clubs Players Player of the Year) about improving his existing five-year contract, but the clubs attention switched to changing managers. New manager Louis van Gaal wanted to assess every player including De Gea, who now works with goalkeeping coach Frans Hoek, his third goalkeeping coach in 18 months after Eric Steele and Chris Woods. The changes werent ideal for De Gea, but he had a good relationship with all and Hoek was kind enough to invite Steele, now at Derby, back to Carrington training centre as a guest. The stalling only aids De Gea, who has continued to improve since a difficult first season following his 17.8 million pound transfer from Atletico Madrid in 2011. The ESPN FC crew discusses Iker Casillas future with Spain after David de Gea replaced him in goal in the game against Luxembourg. Signing footballers isnt an exact science, but Uniteds adept acquisition of the Spaniard deserves praise. Knowing they had to replace Edwin van der Sar, United watched all the best goalkeepers in the world before contacting two -- Manuel Neuer and De Gea. The word back from the German was that if Neuer wanted to go to Manchester, hed go on holiday. That was rightly perceived to be arrogant by Sir Alex Ferguson and his staff. United focused on De Gea, whom Steele had spotted playing for Spain U17s against England in the finals of the 2007 Euros in Belgium. I wasnt there to watch him, but this matchstick of a goalkeeper did two or three things in that game, Steele told me. He had nothing to do for 20 minutes, when a ball came back to him. He was chased down, but calmly dragged the ball from his right foot to his left and then cleared it to the left back. When the left back had the ball, David created a new angle and made himself available to the left back, who passed the ball back. David then pinged it 60 yards to the outside right. I thought Wow. Steele would become a key character in De Geas life, learning important phrases in Spanish and pushing him -- with limited success -- to learn English. De Gea is very laid-back. Despite his talent, De Geas first season was very tough. The mainstream media didnt publicise it, but senior United coaches were worried that he was so homesick that he might want to return to Spain. It didnt help that his parents werent keen on flying, or that his girlfriend lived between Barcelona, Madrid and Manchester. Logistics didnt make it easier. You can fly from Manchesters huge airport direct to 12 Spanish cities but there is no daily service to Madrid, Spains capital and biggest city. So every trip home is a challenge -- either via Liverpool, where Man United players arent always the most popular passengers, or a London connection. At every stage they get recognised and have cameras shoved in their faces. On the bus to the terminal at the Barcelona airport last year, a fan asked De Gea if hed be joining Barca. Who knows? he replied politely. Which was reported as De Gea wanting to join a Barca side about to lose Victor Valdes. Of course, De Geas situation has been helped by the fact United have brought in more Spanish players and De Gea himself did his first interview in English in May. De Geas also adored by United fans who sing: Everywhere you go always take De Gea with you to the tune of the Crowded House hit. They hope hes more comfortable with the weather than Ronaldo, according to Roy Keane in his new book. Keane recalls a conversation with Ronaldo and Silvestre: Id go, Lads, when you signed, you mustve known it f---in rains a lot in Manchester. Theyd go, We knew, but we didnt know it would be this bad. David De Gea attended last seasons Manchester United player of the year awards at Old Trafford with his girlfriend Edurne Garcia Almagro. If theyre used to going for a cappuccino at half-ten at night, sitting on a balcony somewhere, and all of a sudden its dark at half-four and its f---in freezing, that is going to change them. I know this, because they told me. De Geas settled in Cheshire but its not home, its not where his close friends live, or where his partner works -- shes an established singer in Spain. The lure of Madrid is considerable and he could become part of a game of chess in which Mendes owns almost all the pieces -- and he also knows that Uniteds top earners are on a lot more than De Gea. There are other, albeit smaller, factors. In a bar near Atleticos Calderon a sticker on the door reads Rey David -- King David. Hes still a hero to Atleti fans, though that status would change if he joined their enemy. As it stands, De Gea is outwardly happy at United, a club where hes been afforded loyalty and support which he wouldnt get if things didnt go well at Madrid. And hes playing superbly. De Gea wants to improve every day, said his teammate Ander Herrera, who played with him for Spain at several age levels. He has everything that a goalkeeper needs. Hes good with his feet. He knows when to take a risk and thats what defines him. He doesnt put pressure on himself. He looks at football as an enjoyment as if he was a 10-year-old kid. Any United fans visiting the Bernabeu can help the cause by taking pro Casillas flags so that president Florentino Perez decides to stick with what hes got -- because to lose De Gea to Madrid would be a huge blow to Uniteds prestige and their new status of competing for the best players in the world. And De Gea is now one of those players.
Posted on: Mon, 13 Oct 2014 17:40:02 +0000
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