Former Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea has been gearing up for a return to the beautiful game and it looks like Genoa have offered him a path back. New Delhi: David De Gea was one of the best goalkeepers of the last decade, shining week in and week out for Manchester United, guiding the club in the time of need. He made a name for himself at Atletico Madrid, helping them win the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Super Cup in 2010 which led to Manchester United paying a British-record transfer fee for a goalkeeper to bring the Spaniard to Old Trafford, to replace the retiring Edwin van der Sar.
Van der Sar is one of the best goalkeepers to represent the Red Devils, even though he was 35 when he made his Manchester United debut. The Dutch legend would make 266 appearances for the club and keep 135 clean sheets during his time. Replacing such a legendary keeper would be a tough task for anyone, let alone for a 20-year-old kid from Spain.
He struggled in his first season at the club and it seemed like this was a wrong move for everyone involved. The club decided to stick with the young Spaniard and the rest, as they say, is history. David De Gea went on to become arguably the best goalkeeper of his generation while at United, making 545 appearances for the club and keeping 190 clean sheets, the most in the club’s history.
He also became the first player to win the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award three years in a row. A faithful servant of the club for over a decade, he left the club in 2023 after the expiry of his contract. After struggling for form towards the end of his career, he had a resurgence in his last season at the club and won the Premier League Golden Glove.
That makes it even more surprising that he’s been without a club for more than a year. It’s baffling to see a player of De Gea’s quality roam around in the wilderness , waiting for any decent team to approach him. David De Gea could become the new goalkeeper of Serie A side Genoa, as per reports 👀 pic.
twitter.com/7lx7w9udM3 — Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) July 26, 2024 According to reports online, there was talk of the former Manchester United goalie announcing his next club ‘around next week’ as he has received several proposals from clubs. Now, a respected and credible Italian journalist has revealed that Serie A side Gerona are interested in bringing the Spaniard on board and De Gea seems to be open to the idea of joining the Italian club, although no agreement has been reached yet.
Gerona have just lost their No.1 Josep Martinez to Inter Milana and manager Alberto Gilardino is said to be on the lookout for a goalkeeper who’s good with their feet and De Gea fits the style of play Gilardino is trying to implement. It remains to be seen whether De Gea moves to the Italian outfit or goes elsewhere.
While no reports are linking him to the club currently, it wouldn’t be surprising to see if the Spaniard ends up at Serie A newcomers Como who have been making ambitious moves all summer. They are on the lookout for a new goalkeeper after Pau Lopez’s move fell through and manager Cesc Fabregas has played with De Gea at the national level so that could be an interesting move as well for the 33-year-old goalkeeper. He reportedly has offers from an English side as well but he isn’t expected to choose that out of his love and respect for Manchester United, while various Saudi Arabian and MLS sides are also interested in adding the Spaniard to their list of marquee signings.
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