DAVID DE GEA has been sensationally asked not to join another club despite his contract being up at Manchester United.
The Red Devils are effectively asking the player to hang around in case they cannot find a new number one within their transfer budget.
The 32-year-old had already been asked to take a wage reduction from £375,000 to £200,000.
Then even that offer was pulled because it is clear manager Erik ten Hag is looking elsewhere.
But that search is being hampered by a limited transfer budget and the priority to get a new striker.
A Man Utd statement read: “David De Gea’s contract is due to run out but discussions remain open with the long-serving keeper.”
The Red Devils made their first signing of the summer this week with the £55million capture of Mason Mount.
That has taken up nearly half the £120million they have available for players this summer due to financial fair play rules.
It means they have had to withdraw from any talks to land Harry Kane with Tottenham wanting £100million.
Another target Napoli’s Victor Osimhen is also out their range with the Italian Serie A champions asking for £150million for the 24-year-old Nigerian front man.
With a striker now the priority United have had to put on hold talks to get Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana at £40million.
United are desperate to get money in through sales to bolster their transfer kitty to resolve the situation.
All the while De Gea has been left in Limbo on the weekend of his wedding to long term partner Edurne Garcia.
De Gea, 32, racked up a club record for a goalkeeper of 545 appearances surpassing the previous highest set by 1968 European Cup winning legend Alex Stepney.
He also celebrated February’s Carabao Cup triumph by surpassing treble winner Peter Schmeichel’s clean sheets record for the club as he notched up his 181st shut out.
The Spaniard was in top form that day to keep Newcastle at bay as Manchester United lifted their first trophy in six years.
He finished the season with the golden glove as well after 17 clean sheets in the Premier League. The second time he has won it after keeping 18 in 2017-18.
He was the club’s player of the year three years on the trot too from 2013-16, which probably tells you as much about the club’s travails in that time as his excellence between the sticks.
To think early in his career after being brought to Old Trafford from Atletico Madrid it didn’t look like he was going to reach 45 appearances never mind 545.
The physical nature of the English game seemed to overwhelm him and Sir Alex Ferguson needed to give him some time out.
But he had faith in the young Spaniard describing his detractors as ‘idiots’ and the faith was repaid.
The problem is the honours board has never reflected his considerable personal achievements.
Just one title, one FA Cup and two League cups.
He has a Europa League medal from 2016-17 but did not play in the final.
Indeed it was his performance in the final of 2020-21 that lost him a lot of favour with a United fan base increasingly frustrated with a new era of failure.
He failed to get close to one of Villarreal’s 11 penalties in the shoot-out and his own tame effort as the goalkeeper’s were called forward to take a kick was saved to hand the Spanish side the trophy.
High profile blunders started to creep into his game not least last season as United exited the Europa League to Sevilla.
His poor distribution from the back was a growing concern in a game that was changing.
When manager Ten Hag said that was something that needed addressing following their 2-1 FA Cup Final defeat to Manchester City in May you knew the writing was on the wall.
