Manchester United have reportedly been given a big boost in their bid to sign Borussia Dortmund defender Mats Hummels, with the Sun claiming the German international is close to quitting the struggling Bundesliga club.
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Manchester United transfer news
While this would be great news for the Red Devils, it’s hard to ignore speculation elsewhere that looks incredibly worrying for the club and that is the Daily Mirror‘s report that David de Gea is trying to engineer an exit from Old Trafford.
The Spanish goalkeeper continues to reject offers of a new contract and is supposedly showing no signs that he wants to stay at the club. Given now he’s played this season, he is arguably more important to United’s defence than any of the back four (or five) could truly hope to be.
As well as his immense saves, de Gea is growing into a real leader at the back and his absence could lead to even worse displays from those charged with protecting their goalkeeper.
On top of that, it just gives United a whole new problem in the transfer market; even if they finally land their long-term target Hummels, they will now need to spend an absolute fortune to find a keeper who could adequately replace de Gea. Manuel Neuer and Thibaut Courtois are not available, and would Tottenham Hotspur let Hugo Lloris join another Premier League club?
Louis van Gaal has failed to integrate big names like Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao into his plans, alienating both players and leading to squad unrest – could this be why de Gea wants out of Old Trafford?