More than 70 per cent of Real Madrid supporters believe the club should not buy David de Gea from Manchester United this summer – and they are all wrong.
In a poll run by Spanish newspaper Marca, 13,000 voted in favour of the La Liga giants waiting one more year to take him on a free in 2016. But why wait?
The current impasse between the two clubs is over a) their respective valuations of De Gea and b) the complications of United’s interest in Sergio Ramos.
The Reds are said to want a world-record fee for a goalkeeper to prise him away. Madrid should break the bank and pay whatever it takes if they’re unwilling to part with Ramos. There are things happening in sport right now that have an air of inevitability about them.
England’s batting collapse at Lord’s, Jordan Spieth hunting for major honours and the transfer of De Gea to Madrid.
It’s going to happen, it’s just a question of when. He’s young, and arguably there are only two goalkeepers who are better than him at the moment: Manuel Neuer and Thibaut Courtois.
Louis van Gaal says David De Gea was left out of Manchester United’s pre-season win over Club America because he was injured.
— Nigeria Newsdesk (@NigeriaNewsdesk) July 18, 2015
Behind those two is a collection of very good ‘keepers – Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris is one of them – and De Gea is firmly in that group.
For Madrid he is the perfect fit. At just 24-years-old, it’s quite feasible that he could be Madrid’s first-choice stopper for the next decade.
On top of that, he’s Spanish and sooner or later will become Vicente del Bosque’s No1 in the national side. Surely the thought must have crossed his mind that he could achieve legendary status in his homeland?
Surely he recognises there is a preference for the first-choice goalkeeper of Spain to play for Real or Barcelona. Yes, the job wouldn’t be out of his reach in England, but it would certainly help his Euro 2016 cause playing as a marquee La Liga star.
– Jazira: Neves delighted to be reunited with Braga
– Sterling: Five reasons why he is worth the price tag
– Real Madrid: Spanish giants named richest club
– Wahda: Top AGL rookie hoping to build on last year
In some ways it also makes sense for United. Uncertainty is hardly helpful when Louis van Gaal wants a smooth start to the season and the longer this saga is allowed to drag on, it is less likely that will happen.
Madrid have to get the deal done this summer and yesterday’s capture of Espanyol’s Kiko Casilla is testament to that. The 28-year-old is a decent goalkeeper but not much more.
The suggestion is Keylor Navas will be Madrid’s No1 after Iker Casillas’ departure and Casilla will occupy the bench. Neither offer much in the way of security, though. Casilla is prone to major errors and that’s hardly a quality associated with a club like Madrid.
In high pressure games he will be vulnerable and while Navas is a good ‘keeper, he’s far better suited to a more modest club.
Every summer Madrid sign a big name to satisfy the insatiable appetite of their supporters. De Gea is exactly that but if it’s not him, then who is there?
Lloris is an option but other than that there’s very little choose from in the current market.
This transfer window for Madrid very much depends on De Gea.
If they don’t sign him they could be looking at another summer of disappointment. Madrid have little choice but to ignore the masses; they need a top-class custodian and must sign De Gea at any cost.
