Transfer Negotiations for David de Gea Enter Final Stretch

The negotiations for the transfer of David de Gea are heading towards the final stretch. Louis Van Gaal has become tired of pulling the strings and has asked the Manchester club to close the deal with Madrid as soon as possible. The Dutch coach publicly hinted at his intentions last Wednesday ("We have a situation that is not favorable for him, or for us, or for the club he may want to go to," he said), and according to AS, he has also privately urged his executives to unlock the negotiations.

Trigger. The goalkeeper's mistakes in the match against PSG have convinced Van Gaal that it makes no sense to continue keeping De Gea against his will. The Spanish international was overwhelmed by the circumstances against the Parisians and arrived in Manchester the next day with a bewildered face.

Van Gaal's change of stance is a step forward in the negotiations. However, it is not definitive. The Old Trafford offices are still determined to retain their goalkeeper. The club's executive vice-chairman, Ed Woodward, wants Manchester United to become a giant in Europe again and believes that selling their best player to a rival like Madrid would be a sign of weakness. Especially after Cristiano and Beckham took the same path in the past while they have been unable to snatch Sergio Ramos away from them.

Madrid, on the other hand, is calm. Rafa Benitez is delighted with Casilla and Keylor Navas. In this way, if United remains entrenched, the white house plans to wait for De Gea to finish his contract and sign him for free next summer. In that case, however, they would have to compensate the goalkeeper with a gross amount of 10 million euros, as they promised him when they closed what would be his new contract at the Bernabeu at the beginning of the summer.

In the meantime, a survey launched yesterday by the Manchester Evening News, the city's newspaper, revealed that Old Trafford fans believe it would be better to sell De Gea this summer rather than let him go for free next year.

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