According to a recent report by Sky Sports, Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is confident about his club’s chances of retaining the services of David De Gea for the long-run. It is understood that on Thursday, the Red Devils decided to activate an option in the Spaniard’s current contract to extend his stay at Old Trafford by a further year.
So United will now have more than a year left to negotiate a new long-term deal with their Spanish keeper to keep him at the club beyond the end of the 2019-20 season. In a recent interview with Sky Sports, Mourinho said, “He wants to stay, and of course I want him to stay. He is the level of player Manchester United needs.
“Manchester United needs the best players in the world. If we want to be Manchester United, we need the best players in the world.
“We have the best goalkeeper in the world. Obviously, the manager wants him to stay and the board wants him to stay.
“David wants to stay and his agent [Jorge Mendes, who also represents Mourinho] wants him to do what the player wants – he is not the kind of agent that is manipulative, like others and tries to influence the player.
“His agent will let him think and decide by himself, so I think the point is just to agree the contract that the club wants to give and the player wants to accept.
“That is just my feeling, but I think they (the talks) are going to finish well.”
It is clearly evident from Mourinho’s comments that he is pretty confident of the prospect of the Spanish international penning a new long-term deal with the Mancunian club.
De Gea has already made a number of match-winning saves for the Reds of Manchester during this campaign. His most recent contribution came in United’s 1-0 win over Young Boys in the UEFA Champions League when he pulled off a remarkable save to deny the Swiss outfit from scoring at Old Trafford.
The 28-year-old has featured in 18 matches for the Red Devils this season, conceding 23 goals while keeping five clean sheets in all competitions. His poor record this season is mostly down to United’s defensive shortcomings as none of the club’s first-team defenders have been able to find consistency at the back in Mourinho’s starting XI.
If United can somehow manage to retain De Gea’s services for the long-run, then there might be a chance for Mourinho to turn his fortunes around at the red half of Manchester and go for major trophies in the coming years. It will be a huge boost for the Mancunian giants in their efforts to establish themselves as a title contender once again in the Premier League.
