Losing De Gea would not be as bad as some may think

The David De Gea transfer saga has been raging on for some time. Manchester United have offered De Gea a fantastic contract, and there is only one reason as to why he has not agreed a new deal. De Gea must be waiting to see if United mathematically qualify for the Champions League. Only as a fan I wish that was the case. Real Madrid want De Gea, there is no doubt about that. Casillas is getting older and with the Madrid faithful getting increasingly frustrated with their legendary goalkeeper, many of them feel it is time for a change. They want De Gea and unfortunately Madrid usually get their man.

De Gea has become world class at United.

Plenty of players have been sold to Madrid in the past, which is very disappointing. As one of the biggest clubs in the world, United should not be a feeder club. No player is bigger than the club however, and if a player wants to leave badly enough, you have to let them go. There is no loyalty in this day and age and with De Gea I feel a departure would feel more disappointing than usual.

 When Ferguson signed him in 2011, for a couple of seasons he got more than enough stick from opposing fans and so called experts across the footballing world. In fact, many United fans doubted him. Yet the club, the management and the majority of the fans backed him and believed he would fulfil his potential, just like many of the greats in the past. Now he has reached the highest level, it is bitterly disappointing if he thinks he is too good for United.

De Gea is also an Atletico Madrid fan, and although Madrid for him is home, it is surely a betrayal to his boyhood club if he was to join Los Blancos. Another obstacle for United is that he only has one year left on his contract. So even if United want him to stay he would leave for free a year later. I have always believed that if you want to win the Champions League you need to have an amazing keeper. To emphasise on this, Schmeichel and Van Der Sar were the keepers when United previously won the European Cup. A club like United should be challenging for the Premier League and Champions League next season, but can they do it without De Gea.

Will De Gea go against his boyhood club Atletico Madrid?

United were long overdue a big investment and that was completed last summer with six quality players. There will be another big investment this summer, but crucially United can still challenge without De Gea. Victor Valdes is currently the backup keeper but I am not convinced. He might be past his best, although it would be unfair to judge him as he has not played a single game. There are two proven goalkeepers in the Premier League who I am certain could replace De Gea. Hugo Lloris at Spurs and Petr Cech at Chelsea aged at 28 and 32 respectively. Still both at a young age for a goalkeeper, especially when you consider United signed Van Der Sar at the age of 34. 

So that is the crisis in goal sorted. Sell De Gea, get good money and bring in a class keeper, he was always going to leave anyway, right? Except that is not enough for me and it should not be enough for United. When Madrid knock for De Gea, United should and probably will say he is not for sale. Furthermore they should tell them, if they want one of our star players, then United should want one of theirs. 

Mourinho has already stated Hazard is worth £200 million plus Messi. Of course that is extortionate and unrealistic, but United should try and get as much money and a player if possible. I would target Gareth Bale. The majority of fans do not appreciate Bale and they do not want him at Madrid, strange because he is an amazing player. In fact he is one of the best players in the world, and crucially he is Premier League proven. It seems like the fans expect more than what Ronaldo can produce because of the £86 million price tag, but that is never going to happen. 

Lloris or Cech would be excellent replacements.

Getting Bale is not out of the question. United signed De Gea for £18 million and he is worth at least double that. So De Gea plus another £40 million could potentially land Bale. Imagine Rooney up front with Di Maria and Bale on each side of him. That would be frightening. The only problem would be getting Bale. If United could get Lloris or Cech along with Hummels, Gundogan and Bale I have no doubt this team can challenge for the title. Of course I will be gutted if De Gea leaves, but great players always come and go. You still have to remember he is not invincible, and with bad defending there is nothing De Gea can do anyway. What is important is that the club moves forward and I have no doubt Van Gaal will do that, whatever the outcome is with David De Gea.