"Need to make the change now" - Gary Neville weighs in on David de Gea's situation at Manchester United amid contract renewal uncertainty
Manchester United legend Gary Neville has given his take on the situation involving goalkeeper David de Gea's contract.
The clock is ticking down on the expiry of De Gea's current deal with the Red Devils. It is set to expire at midnight, making the Spaniard a free agent and no longer tied to the Old Trafford outfit.
De Gea, 32, agreed on a new deal with Manchester United only for changes to be made to terms in the deal, per BBC Sport. He has not agreed to the new proposal put to him by the Premier League giants. Both parties have now taken a step back and are reflecting on the situation before making a decision.
Neville has told his former club that it's time for the Red Devils to part with their longest-serving player. He said on The Overlap (via centredevils):
“To win titles you must have a World Class goalkeeper and (Manchester United) need to make the change now.”
The United icon also alluded to the Spanish goalkeeper's mistake in the FA Cup final loss to neighbors Manchester City (via UtdPlug):
"I don't want to pick on a keeper who has been great for the last 10 years. He had some tough times and there was a period of 4/5 years where he was very good, but you can't let that second goal pass."
De Gea has been a mainstay in the Manchester United side since joining from Atletico Madrid in 2011. He has made 545 appearances across competitions, keeping 190 clean sheets.
The Spaniard has won the club's Player of the Year award a joint record four times. He also broke Red Devils legend Peter Schmeichel's all-time record of clean sheets when he kept Newcastle United at bay in the Carabao Cup final in February.
However, despite De Gea continuously breaking records, he hasn't been without his faults. None more so than his disappointing performance in the FA Cup final against City. He was poor in trying to prevent Ilkay Gundogan from scoring the winner at Wembley.
De Gea's manager Erik ten Hag constantly defended the veteran shot-stopper throughout the season. He did so after the goalkeeper fumbled Said Benrahma's tame effort in a 1-0 defeat to West Ham.
However, the writing may be on the wall for the Spaniard given the club's decision to make further changes to his contract proposal. He was already willing to take a significant hit on his £375,000 per week wages.
Manchester United to meet Inter Milan for discussions over potential De Gea replacement Andre Onana
Manchester United's replacement for De Gea appears to have been identified as Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana. Ten Hag previously coached the Cameroonian at Ajax and developed him into one of Europe's best ball-playing shot-stoppers.
According to Italian outlet La Gazzetta dello Sport, Red Devils' director of football operations David Harrison, and Inter sporting director Piero Ausilio will meet in Ibiza today (June 30). Onana's agent has also traveled to Ibiza to help put the finishing touches on a move to Old Trafford.
Onana was in superb form this past season, keeping 19 clean sheets in 41 games across competitions. He was impressive in both the Nerazzurri's Coppa Italia final win over Fiorentina and their UEFA Champions League final defeat to City.