United in contract talks with de Gea

Manchester United has opened contract talks with David de Gea less than two weeks after the Spain goalkeeper was on the verge of joining Real Madrid, according to reports on Thursday.

De Gea was on course to get his wish of a move to Real on transfer deadline day until an administrative error caused the deal to collapse at the last minute.

The 24-year-old has not played for the Premier League club this season after being dropped by United manager Louis van Gaal, who claimed de Gea had told him he was not in the right frame of mind to play while the transfer saga dragged on.

When the Madrid switch fell through it was feared de Gea's relationship with van Gaal might prove broken beyond repair.

But the BBC and a number of English national newspapers said on Thursday the Spain international, voted United's player of the year for the past two seasons, is willing to talk about a new deal.

Pictures carried by the Daily Mail showed de Gea's agent, Jorge Mendes, in Manchester on Thursday, giving rise to talk of negotiations and increasing speculation that de Gea will return to the United lineup for Saturday's clash against archrival Liverpool at Old Trafford.

There was no comment from the club on de Gea's future on Thursday.

AFP

(China Daily 09/12/2015 page12)