Real Madrid eyeing David de Gea as a long term replacement for Casillas

The Manchester United star who is said to be a replacement for the legendary Edwin Van der Saar has had an offer from Real Madrid to return to his homeland. David de Gea has been the first choice goalkeeper at United since Van der Saar’s retirement. The Spaniard has had to fill in the boots of the legend at the Theatre of Dreams and has lived upto the expectations despite early slip ups.At such a young age he has been tipped to be the apt replacement for Iker Casillas in the national side who has made the slot his own over the years. Undoubtedly Iker Casillas has been the best goalkeeper in Spain over a decade and is the captain of both his club and country side. There has been a lot of speculation about the ability and age of Casillas after being benched in the last Real Madrid game of 2012. His club boss Jose Mourinho clearly indicated that he prefers the young Antonio Adan, but dropping Casillas has raised a lot of questions about Mourinho’s tactics and it is even stirred out a wave against the Portuguese manager. Casillas started his career at Real Madrid and since then has been a club faithful and now he captains the side. He owns the national team slot despite tough competition from players like Valdes, Pepe Reina. Casillas has outperformed them and finds himself as the number 1 goalkeeper at his club and country level. But with Casillas having turned 31 Real Madrid are looking forward to find an apt replacement for the veteran goalkeeper, which makes De Gea a preferred option.

Also with the recent speculation of Cristiano Ronaldo being unhappy at Real Madrid and planning to see out his contract, a move for the Spanish goalie looks certain as Real Madrid are trying for a potential swap. The recent news has it can United can afford Ronaldo for 60million but at the cost of De Gea and Nani. Sir Alex Ferguson has to work out his options and decide whether he has to bring back his star winger and lose his current number 1 goalie. The current market value of Ronaldo is said to be 120 million but as Ronaldo considers a move to his old club a potential swap might be on the cards.

Coming to De Gea, the youngster has been good for United despite his early slip ups. He had a fantastic season with his boyhood club Atletico Madrid which earned him a fantastic reputation and a contract with Manchester United. The Madrid born De Gea started playing with Atletico at an age of 10 and rose through the academy system at the club before making his senior debut in 2009. After being made Atletico’s first choice goalkeeper, he helped the team win both the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Super Cup, and his performances attracted the attention of Manchester United, whom he joined in June 2011. He also the captained the Spain Under 21 national side. The Spaniard joined United in 2011,the first half of 2011 saw a great deal of speculation regarding how Manchester United would replace their retiring goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, and much attention focused on De Gea, among others. After Gary Neville’s testimonial against Juventus on 24 May, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson claimed that a deal had been done to bring De Gea to Old Trafford, but this was later denied by De Gea’s representatives and the Atletico management, with De Gea stating that he would not consider his future until the UEFA Under 21 Championship. Following Spain’s victory, De Gea was spotted in Manchester having a medical with United, he reported that United were making him a contract offer, and the transfer was confirmed on 29 June for a British record fee for a goalkeeper of around £17 million.

The 2011-12 season saw a few glitches and slip ups from De Gea despite ending the season on a high note. In January 2012, De Gea was confirmed as hyperopic, although this is not thought to have affected his performances for United. It had been reported that he will have corrective eye surgery in the summer of 2012 and De Gea was in goal during the league defeat to Blackburn Rovers and was blamed by most media for failing to deal with an aerial ball which led to the concession of the third goal in a 3–2 defeat. After this game, De Gea was dropped and replaced by United’s second choice keeper, Anders Lindegaard. However, an injury to Lindegaard saw De Gea return to the starting lineup again, and he put in his best performance in a United shirt in the 3–2 loss to Athletic Bilbao at Old Trafford. Despite all the glitches De Gea finished the season with the best saves to shots ratio in the Premier League (77.9%).The following season he has been the 1st choice goalie for United ahead of Anders Lindegaard. And has put in some terrific performances.

There have been rumours that the Spanish goalkeeper has suffered from homesickness, since he moved from Atletico Madrid 18 months ago. According to the sun The Spain Under 21 is now the top target for Madrid boss Mourinho and is termed to be a long term replacement for Veteran Casillas. De Gea is definitely wanted by Mourinho but a lot depends on his own future, but Mourinho has studied De Gea’s form closely and seems to be very interested.

Tags: Cristiano Ronaldo, Edwin Van der Saar, Football, Iker Casillas, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Soccer