De Gea’s future at United was questioned in the summer, when Erik ten Hag arrived, raising concerns about whether his ball distribution was adequate for the Dutchman’s style of play.
David de Gea will accept a pay cut in order to sign a new contract with Manchester United, with the goalkeeper confident of finishing his career at Old Trafford.
The 32-year-old has entered the final six months of his current contract at Old Trafford, with United declining to exercise their option to extend it by another year.
If that agreement had been extended, De Gea would have been able to keep his current weekly salary of £375,000 until the summer of 2024.
However, the Spain international is set to sign new terms with the club after agreeing to United’s request to reduce his salary, according to the Daily Telegraph.
De Gea, who joined Manchester United from Atletico Madrid in 2011, says he is’very relaxed’ about his future at the club and believes he will stay for the rest of his career.
‘I hope so,’ De Gea responded when asked if he was certain he would finish his career at United.
‘I was saying this is my club, I’ve been here for many, many years, it’s a huge honor to be here, and I’m so happy here,’ he said.
‘I’m very relaxed [about the contract], just focused on training and performing as well as I can. But, without a doubt, it will end well.’
De Gea’s future at United was questioned in the summer, when Erik ten Hag arrived, raising concerns about whether his ball distribution was adequate for the Dutchman’s style of play.
But, under ten Hag, the shot stopper has remained a key figure this season, keeping nine clean sheets in his last 12 matches, with United not conceding a single goal since returning to club football in late December.
De Gea was part of a much-improved defensive unit that kept a clean sheet against Bournemouth on Wednesday night, despite the absence of first-choice centre-halves Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez, who were replaced by Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire.
‘That’s how it should be coming here [to Old Trafford] – it should be a difficult place for teams,’ De Gea said. ‘Let’s see what happens in the future. We are playing extremely well; we must maintain this momentum as much as possible and prepare for each game as if it were the final, as well as recover quickly.
‘He’s doing well,’ says Ten Hag. He gets everyone on the same page, and we feel like a real team. Everyone wants to win, and everyone wants to play for this club, which is huge. He brought a great spirit to the team; we’re playing really well, and this is how we need to show and maintain momentum.
‘He was happy with the clean sheet [against Bournemouth], but he was also irritated because we gave up too many chances and were too open at the end of the game, so he was irritated.’