According to journalist Dean Jones, Manchester United will have a “really difficult” time deciding whether to keep custodian David De Gea this summer.

What recent information is there about David De Gea?
A new contract for De Gea with Manchester United, with a pay package that is less than his current weekly salary of £375,000, is reportedly close to being finalised, according to 90min.

According to the report, De Gea has an automatic one-year extension that could have been activated on his current terms at Old Trafford and would have prevented him from leaving on a free transfer once his contract expired in the summer. However, De Gea has now decided to accept a significant pay cut to lengthen his stay at the Red Devils.

However, Sportske Jutarnji via The Daily Mail has reported that Manchester United is interested in signing Dinamo Zagreb custodian Dominik Livakovic and are looking to activate his £8.9 million release clause. If true, this could present a problem for De Gea as he may face competition for the starting position in goal if the Croatian joins.

Intriguingly, if the Croatian international were to sign with Manchester United, he would make history as the first player from his country to play for the club.

Journalist Jones said in an interview with Football FanCast that Manchester United will need to carefully consider De Gea’s future over the coming months.

“It’s really hard to get that right; it’s really hard to know that you’re making a decision to fire a goalkeeper who’s been there for so long and has been one of the best goalkeepers in the game,” Jones told FFC. They will be replaced, but you really need to get that right. It’s a big choice, but we must keep in mind that Man United has made strides in negotiations with De Gea.

David De Gea should Manchester United allow him to leave this summer?
It will undoubtedly be a difficult decision for Ten Hag, but it appears that the strategy may be to keep De Gea and bring in some serious competition, which could prove to be a wise choice that would win over the Manchester United fan base.

According to Transfermarkt, De Gea has been a mainstay for the Red Devils in 2022–23, keeping 23 clean sheets in 51 appearances across all competitions.

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Despite this, he has allowed 55 goals this season and occasionally faced uncertainty, leading some to argue that his position as the club’s first-choice custodian should be questioned.

Moving forward, signing De Gea to a new contract and adding a player of exceptional calibre to challenge him may have been a brilliant move by Ten Hag.

And it will be interesting to see how the seasoned Spaniard would fare against some tough competition given that Martin Dubravka did not earlier in the campaign.