Manchester United remain the second best team in their city and in the country but are closely followed by Liverpool, who are just two points behind them, in the third place. Jose Mourinho will not be too happy with the performances of his first team and will look to make some additions at the end of the season.
However, he may lose a star player in David de Gea, who is now a top transfer target for Real Madrid. The Spanish giants wanted the former Atletico Madrid man three years ago but were not able to land him due to technical reasons.
De Gea signed a contract extension after that fiasco but is now yet again on their radar, for a move in the summer. Mourinho is convinced that he will not be allowed to leave anytime soon and is also preparing a new deal, which he believes the Spaniard will sign but they are also already planning for contingencies.
There are not many shot-stoppers in the world that can match De Gea’s quality but one player United are interested in is World Cup winner Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
A product of the Borussia Monchengladbach academy, the 18-cap German international joined Barcelona as a youngster back in 2014 and has won two La Liga titles, a UCL title and three Copa del Rey titles in his time in Spain.
He has turned into one of the most consistent shot-stoppers in Europe and is the first choice under the bar for the German national side, with Manuel Neuer currently injured. He has been a mainstay for the Catalan giants for over a couple of years now and has 15 clean sheets in 23 appearances, letting in just 13 goals all season.
He has 108 Bundesliga appearances, 69 La Liga appearances and 38 UCL appearances, all at the age of 25 and is only going to get better. He is one of the very few names that can replace De Gea at Old Trafford and it is reported that United are ready to make a £89m bid for his services in the summer.
He has a release clause of £161m and Barcelona will not be forced to sell so it might depend on Ter Stegen if he wants to move to England.
United are currently a squad in transition and will need to improve a lot to challenge for the league title in England or the UCL. Ter Stegen, at the moment, is enjoying life at Barcelona and is not expected to take the risk of moving clubs anytime soon.
So it is best for United to try and convince De Gea to stay, rather than sell him and plunge into an inflated market.
