02 May 2023 , 09:43
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David de Gea's future at Manchester United remains unclear, with the goalkeeper's current contract due to expire at the end of the season.
De Gea, who has been at United since 2011, signed a highly lucrative contract extension back in 2019 which made him one of the highest paid players in the league on a whopping £375,000 per week.
The two parties have been in talks over another extension, with United wanting the 32-year-old to accept a wage cut. And while De Gea did reject their initial offer, discussions are ongoing and former Premier League winning goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel believes an agreement will ultimately be reached.
Speaking on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football, Schmeichel said: "I think they've got an incredible goalkeeper. Not just an incredible goalkeeper, an incredible servant to the club - what is it, 11 or 12 years he's been at the club?
"To be at any club for that long I know is a difficult thing, to be the number one at a football club the size of Manchester United is an incredible achievement and one that has to be really respected."
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United have been linked with a host of potential replacements for De Gea and questions have been asked over his suitability for Erik ten Hag's style of football. De Gea has also made some high profile errors this season and was most notably at fault for all three goals as United were dumped out of the Europa League by Sevilla last month.
Despite this, Schmeichel believes De Gea has been "playing at a really high level" with the ball at his feet this season and thinks it would cost United well over £60m to find a suitable replacement for him.
David de Gea is out of contract with Manchester United at the end of the season (James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)He added: "I think looking at his season he's been asked to play a completely different way to how he's ever had to play but from what I'm seeing - like I said before, you'll notice the things that have gone wrong - but there's a lot of things that have gone right as well.
"I think he's playing at a really high level with his feet as well. The actual goalkeeping side of it has never been in question because he is outrageous how good he is at that.
"I think Manchester United are looking at it in terms of what would it cost to replace him? It would cost you north of £60m and you already have a guy who is a top-class goalkeeper and from the looks of it wants to stay, so I think they'll reach some kind of agreement at some point."