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There are dark clouds all over Old Trafford at the moment. After the weekend’s terrible 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace, Manchester United are now 14 points behind local rivals, Manchester City.
All season, the displays by the Red Devils have been the object of constant analysis and a source of banter for opposition fans. Jose Mourinho’s tactics (or lack of it), comments in interviews and eccentric displays dominate discussions more than the actual football.
However, the most damaging could be David de Gea. The Spaniard has been the best player in the post-Alex Ferguson era. His displays have been a reason why Manchester United have not been as bad as they could have been.
De Gea looks to be fed up of the club’s stagnation and has reportedly refused to sign a new deal with his current one expiring at the end of the season. Though the Red Devils have the option to trigger an automatic one-year renewal, such uncertainty does not bode well for the club’s future.
Mourinho (if he stays on) and the United hierarchy will need to either convince De Gea to stay or begin to plan for his departure.
With that in mind, here is a look at 5 possible replacements:
#5 Alban Lafont (AC Fiorentina)
One of the hottest young goalkeeping talents in world football, Lafont has been a name on everybody’s lips for a while now.
It was felt that the 19-year-old was ready for a move to a big club. However, he surprised everyone by agreeing to a €8.5m move to Serie A side Fiorentina. Competing against another excellent young goalie in Bartlomiej Dragowski, the French youngster has shown his quality.
He has been one of the league’s best goalies and would make a good replacement if de Gea leave Old Trafford. Like De Gea, Lafont is very agile and capable of making great saves. He is also very confident in possession and will keep getting better in his decision making as he grows older.
It is unclear how much he will cost were United to make a move for him but given his potential, it will not be cheap.
#4 Alex Meret (SSC Napoli)
Italy has always had great goalkeepers. At the head of the latest iteration stands AC Milan’s Gianluigi Donnarumma and Napoli’s Alex Meret. While the former Udinese man’s ascent has been nowhere as dramatic as Donnarumma’s, his class has been obvious to most keen watchers of Serie A.
Spending last season on loan at SPAL (due to the presence of another excellent young Italian goalie in Simone Scuffet at Udinese), Meret was a huge factor in why the promoted side survived.
He was linked to a lot of top Italian clubs including Juventus in the summer. However, it was Napoli who eventually got his signature in a €35m deal. Yet to feature for the Neapolitans due to a broken arm he suffered in pre-season training, the 21-year-old will be back in the team in January, then United scouts will have ample chances to watch him.
He is magnificent in the air, has great distribution and leads his defence in the manner of older, more experienced goalies. Meret would make a great long-term replacement for the wantaway De Gea and could even be better than the Spaniard in the future.
#3 Gigi Donnarunma (AC Milan)
Donnarumma’s form has been patchy in recent seasons. However, this can be traced partly to his transfer issues last season and the porous nature of his teams; Milan and the Italian national team.
This is something that De Gea can definitely relate to. However, Donnarunma remains one of the world’s most talented goalkeepers. Agile, fast off his feet with a good command of his penalty area and the ability to make superlative saves look routine, Gigio could be perfect to replace De Gea for Manchester United.
United have a great relationship with Donnarumma’s agent Mino Raiola. The Italian has brought Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Romelu Lukaku, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pogba to Old Trafford since Mourinho arrived in 2016. The Italian international could be the next to join the gravy train.
#2 Jordan Pickford (Everton)
Manchester United has not had a top English goalie for a while in the Premier League era. However, if De Gea decides to move on from Old Trafford, this could change.
This is because, for the first time in a long while, England has a goalie who is looking like he could become world-class. Pickford came to prominence in the 2016/2017 season when Sunderland got relegated.
Despite not being the tallest goalie in the world (he stands at 1.85 m), Pickford’s agility helps him to make a lot of great saves. His distribution is also very good and he is brilliant at organizing his defence.
The last attribute is one that has eluded the Manchester United backline in recent seasons, even under the defensively-inclined Mourinho. Given his status as England’s number one, his young age and the intricacies of the English transfer market, he could cost the Red Devils a pretty penny.
#1 Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid)
Arguably, he is currently the best goalie in the world at the moment. United fans would not be so sad to replace a goalkeeper of De Gea’s quality with a man like Oblak.
Great shot stopper, excellent commander of the defence line and able to initiate counter attacks with his long kicks and throws, Oblak’s presence will take United’s defending several notches higher than it currently is.
Diego Simeone would be loath to lose such an important member of his team. The Slovenian international has won the Ricardo Zamora award for the best goalie in La Liga for the last three seasons. His reported €100m buyout clause would comfortably make him the most expensive goalie in the world.
Should De Gea, it would be a fee that the United board should not hesitate to pay.
