Manchester United set sights on Greece international in search to replace 31-year-old star: Reports
Manchester United are reportedly eyeing a move for Benfica goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos. The Greece international is seen as the replacement for David de Gea at Old Trafford.
As per a report in Media Foot, Vlachodimos's impressive performances for the Portuguese side have caught the eye of Manchester United scouts. The goalkeeper has managed nine clean sheets in 15 matches and conceded just seven goals this season.
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The 28-year-old has been impressive in the UEFA Champions League as well this season. He did well against Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain, but could not keep a clean sheet against the European giants.
Erik ten Hag is keen on bringing in a goalkeeper next summer, and the report suggests he is not happy with De Gea. The Spaniard's distribution is an issue for the style the Dutch manager wants to implement at Old Trafford, and he wants a change.
De Gea moved to Manchester United from Atletico Madrid in 2011 and has become a key member of the team in the last few years. He has played 497 matches for the club so far.
Manchester United had David de Gea's replacement sorted
Dean Henderson was touted as the ideal replacement for David de Gea at Manchester United but he has now left on loan. The Englishman forced a loan move for Nottingham Forest before the first training session under Erik ten Hag.
Odysseas Vlachodimos 🧱 video
His last match against dynamo kyiv
And one match for Greece 🇬🇷
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Just some clips 🥱 https://t.co/Y1yXH4ogG5
The goalkeeper spoke about his frustration at being on the bench last season and was quoted by The Sun as saying:
"I turned so many good loans down last summer for that reason and they wouldn't let me go. To waste 12 months was criminal really, at my age. I was fuming. It was so frustrating. The conversation I had, coming out of the EUROs squad, was, 'You're coming back to be No. 1 keeper.' Unfortunately, no one followed through with anything they told me."
He added:
"I didn't really want the manager [Ten Hag] to see me in training because I knew he'd probably want to keep me. I told all the hierarchy: 'I need to go and play football. I don't want to be playing second fiddle.' And it panned out so I was almost gone before the manager came in."
Henderson's loan spell has not been going great as the newly promoted side are at rock bottom of the Premier League table. They have conceded 21 goals this season, just one less than the worst defense in the league, Leicester City.