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Man Utd have been urged to sell five senior stars this summer, though one player labelled ‘lazy’ and who’s ‘costing’ Ten Hag on a regular basis is primed to sign a long-term contract, per reports.
The Red Devils have taken great strides forward under Erik ten Hag this season. The first piece of major silverware since 2017 has been banked, while adding the FA Cup to their trophy haul remains a very real prospect.
The vast bulk of Ten Hag’s summer signings have been instant hits. Lisandro Martinez, Christian Eriksen and Casemiro have all hit the ground running.
It’s been tougher going for Antony, though according to Jamie Carragher, he’s done more in six months than Jadon Sancho has in two years.
But while progress has clearly been made, the dismal Europa League exit on Thursday night provided a reminder there’s plenty of work still to do.
Front and centre in Man Utd’s transfer plans this summer is signing a top class centre-forward. Once reeled in, Anthony Martial could be sold, while Wout Weghorst has not done enough to warrant being signed outright once his loan concludes.
Martial, 27, has been increasingly beset by injuries over recent seasons. Now, a report from Goal has listed the Frenchman among a five-man list of senior stars Man Utd must ‘definitely’ axe at season’s end.
Joining Martial on Goal’s list is David de Gea, centre-halves Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof, and homegrown midfielder Scott McTominay.
De Gea’s future has been a hot topic of late, not least because his lack of ability with his feet makes him a poor fit for Ten Hag.
The common consensus has been De Gea has returned to form with the gloves this term. However, his decision-making with the ball at feet was exposed for Sevilla’s first goal on Thursday night and his error for the third goal typified his limitations.
De Gea primed for new, long-term contract
De Gea is a four-time Man Utd Player of the Year. However, all good things must come to an end and Goal explain their reasoning for believing De Gea’s time should be up.
They state De Gea has been ‘costing United points’ on a regular basis over the last five years. His individual errors – like the one for Sevilla’s third goal – are deemed ‘lazy’ and an increasingly ‘regular occurrence’.
United legend Paul Scholes has echoed the claims De Gea is unsuited to Ten Hag.
The Dutchman favours a possession-based game that requires his goalkeeper to be comfortable on the ball and adopt a high starting position. De Gea is imperious with the gloves, though less so with his feet.
Yet despite his drawbacks, ESPN recently reported De Gea is close to signing off on a new contract.
They stated the majority of terms have been ‘finalised’. De Gea will reportedly accept a huge cut to his base salary, though that’ll be offset to some degree by performance-related bonuses.
De Gea currently pockets around £375,000-a-week and United hope to bring him in line with their so-called ‘Ronaldo Rule’.
Put simply, that means United don’t want any player earning significantly more than anyone else in the hopes of fostering greater team harmony. A reduced base salary of around £200,000-a-week has been speculated.
When asked about the idea of De Gea being his long-term goalkeeper at Old Trafford, Ten Hag showed no signs the Spaniard’s imminent new deal will be reneged on.
Following the Sevilla defeat, Ten Hag said (via Fabrizio Romano): “David de Gea as long term goalkeeper? He is the one with the most clean sheets in the Premier League (for Man Utd).
“That number (144) shows he’s [a] very capable goalkeeper.”
Barring a dramatic U-turn, Man Utd fans should not expect to see a different goalkeeper line up between the sticks over the coming years.
Source:Team Talk