By Betsefy
David de Gea is reportedly willing to take a pay cut in order to extend his contract at Manchester United.
The 31-year-old goalkeeper has been with the Red Devils since 2011 and has made over 500 appearances for the club across all competitions.
However, De Gea’s long-term future at Old Trafford is believed to be uncertain as his current contract is due to expire next summer.
Man United are believed to have the option to extend De Gea’s current deal by a further 12 months, but a recent report claims that they will only trigger this extension if they fail to sign a suitable replacement.
Porto‘s Diego Costa and Athletic Bilbao‘s Unai Simon are among a number of goalkeepers who have been linked with a potential switch to Old Trafford.
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According to journalist Laurie Whitwell on The Athletic Football Podcast, De Gea is willing to reduce his £375,000-per-week salary to extend his contract at Man United.
Whitwell adds that the De Gea is settled in Manchester, but it remains to be seen whether Erik ten Hag views the Spanish stopper as his long-term number one going forward.
Ten Hag has suggested that talks over a new contract for De Gea could take place during the World Cup, with the 45-cap Spain international allegedly set to miss out of Luis Enrique‘s 26-man squad.
Speaking to reporters earlier this week, Ten Hag said: “This issue about negotiating [contracts], we said first we are focusing on the games. When we come to an end with this block, we have the World Cup and then we have to think about them.
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“In the background we have our strategies for how to deal with it. It is clear already and I have already emphasised it several times, I am really happy with David. He is a great goalkeeper.
“He is only 31. He is fit. He can progress even more. He was already impressively good for Man United and I think he will do that in the future as well.”
De Gea revealed last month that he would like to remain at Man United for “more years”, telling reporters: “I’m just very focused on the games helping the team as much as I can. Of course, I would like to be here for more years, so let’s see what happens in the future. I’m really, really happy here.”
United’s current No.1 has kept his 173rd clean sheet for the Red Devils in their slender 1-0 Premier League victory at home against West Ham United last weekend, a game which saw the Spaniard make three crucial saves in the closing stages to ensure Ten Hag’s side picked up all three points.
