Gabriel Agbonlahor has warned Manchester United against triggering David de Gea‘s one-year contract extension at the end of this season.
Reported in Football Insider, the ex-Premier League forward insists de Gea is no longer worth the £300,000-per-week he would continue to earn should the extension be agreed.
“I don’t think he deserves that contract. The wages they’re talking about, £300,000-a-week, he doesn’t deserve that,” the former Aston Villa man said.
Agbonlahor went on to say United would be better served replacing the ‘error prone’ De Gea with a younger keeper.
“I would move on, to be honest. He’ll have a few good games but he’ll make errors. I would move on and look at a younger option instead.”
Question marks have arisen regarding De Gea’s ability to keep goal in an Erik ten Hag team.
Ten Hag’s preferred style is to build from the back and he requires his goalkeeper to be as good with his feet as he is with his hands. De Gea’s passing is not top of his attribute list, as proven so far the season.
De Gea is also one of the highest earners at the club, which adds credence to cutting ties with the Spaniard, in line with getting the wage structure down to a manageable level.
If De Gea was to leave, he would walk out of Old Trafford as one of the finest goalkeepers to ever wear the shirt.
Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year winner on four occasions, De Gea’s importance to the team has been huge, in what has been a rocky decade for the club. De Gea won the award in three consecutive years between 2014-2016 where he was considered as the best goalkeeper in the world.
Should De Gea leave, the replacement will have big gloves to fill. Dean Henderson is on the books but may have burnt his bridges after comments made on his loan move to Nottingham Forest.
Other names circling include Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak, Wolves’ Jose Sa and England number one Jordan Pickford. Whoever replaces De Gea will feel the pressure of dealing with one of the most scrutinized positions in world football.
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