After leaving Manchester United in the summer, David de Gea was again visible in the city this week as he continues to look for a new club.
De Gea spent 12 largely successful seasons at Old Trafford, winning the Premier League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Europa League during that time before leaving for free in the summer after negotiations over a new contract extension broke down.
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He is the reigning Premier League Golden Glove winner having finished the 2022-23 season with more clean sheets than any of his top-flight contemporaries, and yet has found himself without a club since left United at the start of July.
De Gea left as United’s seventh greatest player of all time, playing 545 games in all competitions, but we are now well into the 2023-24 season and he remains a free agent.
The Spain international has returned to his old stomping ground in recent days, just as Andre Onana, his direct replacement as United’s number 1, is having a poor start to life at Old Trafford.
Onana, who arrived this summer from Champions League finalists Inter Milan for £47.2 million, has already scored 16 goals in his first 11 appearances and made several high-profile errors early in his career at United, which left many fans asking questions. Manager Erik ten Hag’s seemingly unwavering confidence in the Cameroon international.
It was pure coincidence that De Gea was in Manchester this week. On Tuesday, the 32-year-old was spotted at Leigh Sports Village, where he was watching the Red Devils women’s team take part in their first ever Champions League match against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.
The following evening, De Gea met fellow Spaniard Sergio Reguilón for a bite to eat and posted a photo of himself on his Instagram story with the full-back on loan to United from Tottenham Hotspur this season.
That said, no one can accuse Reguilon of taking sides when it comes to Manchester United goalkeepers past and present, with the 26-year-old defender publicly showing his support for Onana after he made a critical handling error during the 4- 0 from last month. 3 defeat at Bayern Munich.
Although he has found himself in a difficult situation professionally in recent months, the summer has not been without incident for De Gea, who married his longtime partner and Spanish pop star Edurne Garcia during in a lavish ceremony on the island of Menorca in July, just days before his exit from United was made official.
De Gea was reportedly set to move to the Saudi Pro League with Al Hilal this summer, but a link with Neymar in Riyadh did not materialize. He was also linked with a succession of major European clubs such as Real Madrid, Bayern, PSG, Sevilla and Real Betis, all of whom were reportedly considering making a contract offer.
He also made a point of sharing images of his fitness regime on social media, as if to demonstrate to any potential suitors that his goalkeeping skills are still being honed and that he takes his fitness seriously with or without teammates to train with.
Who knows, with Onana struggling to get fit and yet to completely win over many at United, maybe a sensational return to Old Trafford for De Gea isn’t so far-fetched what it seemed like in the past?
