On Friday, Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made public his plans to rotate his goalkeepers, Dean Henderson and David de Gea, during the run in of this season. Solskjaer made it clear that we’ll have a true position battle in between the sticks, as MUFC attempt to sort out who the true No. 1 is now.
According to the Sunday edition of the Daily Mirror, this issue is already settled, with MUFC looking to buyout the Spainiard’s contract, which has two years, in an effort free up some cash. De Gea makes £350,000 per week in salary.
That obviously means the 30-year-old would be set to move on in the summer, with Henderson now assuming the reigns of No. 1 shotstopper. The 24-year-old signed a new contract this season, which saw his pay rise to £100,000-a-week. Having spent the past two seasons on loan at Sheffield United, it would appear that Henderson’s time has now come.
It is of course, not confirmed that De Gea is exiting, but much of the United supporter community online seems to already believe it so, and thus goodbye posts are prevalent on social media.
David de Gea is set to leave Manchester United at the end of the season.
[via @MullockSMirror] pic.twitter.com/uN2yB5KcNO
— United Zone (@ManUnitedZone_) April 3, 2021
A lot of respect is being paid to De Gea, and admiration for all that he did is being expressed in cyberspace. Deservedly so, as the Madrid native has served this club with extreme distinction.
He’s the last major link to the United’s most recent Premier League title team, and when he’s done at MUFC, it will truly be a new era.
https://twitter.com/UtdZarq/status/1378643812650774529
He’s a club legend already.
This thread lists out some of his achievements with the club:
David De Gea: Club Legend
A thread. pic.twitter.com/3sDsrwE1lW
— ?? (@fmUTD1) April 4, 2021
And here is a link to a listing of more records and achievements:
https://twitter.com/0Brento2/status/1378680986326732800
And this tweet is a great summation of all that De Gea is, and what he’s about:
https://twitter.com/NeelRai31/status/1378654837735260160
United are about two hours away from kicking off against Brighton & Hove Albion. You can find links to our preview material here and here.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.