David de Gea remained coy on his Manchester United future after turning down their opening contract offer.
The long-serving Spanish goalkeeper – who joined United in the summer of 2011 from Atletico Madrid – and alongside Phil Jones, is the only player remaining at the club from Sir Alex Ferguson’s era in the dugout.
De Gea signed a hefty deal in 2019 that made him not only the club's highest-paid player but also the Premier League's top earner on £375,000 per week. The goalkeeper accepts that at the age of 32, he cannot command the same type of money, but still wants an amount that reflects his value.
United are thought to be on the lookout for a new goalkeeper this summer to provide competition for De Gea’s place and possibly usurp him as first choice. Porto goalkeeper and Portugal international Diogo Costa is one candidate, while United are keeping tabs on Brentford shot stopper David Raya.
De Gea told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday: “It is time just to be focused as we play many games in a row. It is not time to lose focus and think about contracts. My aim is to keep going and play my best.”
De Gea, during the duration of his current contract, has struggled at times, particularly during Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's tenure. Notable errors have cost his side and they've been on show again this term, namely when he conceded at Brentford earlier in the season.
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The goalkeeper has also faced question marks regarding his style of play, which some don't feel is suited to boss Erik ten Hag's system. The Dutchman's possession-based ethos requires his goalkeeper to be comfortable on the ball and confident when it comes to his distribution. The United boss called that aspect of De Gea's game into question earlier in March.
However, De Gea hit back with a response to the doubters over his form: “When we keep a clean sheet, it means the team and I did a good job. But criticism is always there, you cannot please everyone. I have 20 clean sheets, close to the most in Europe, so we are doing a great job and I help the team do it.”
The Spaniard recently took Peter Schmeichel’s long-standing clean sheet record at United, with the Dane’s total of 180 shutouts surpassed by De Gea – who is now on 185 – this season.
De Gea added: “Beating the record of one of the best like Schmeichel makes me feel so proud. Now it is a moment to do even better. When we keep clean sheets, then we are closer to winning things.”
