David de Gea wants to see out the rest of his career at Manchester United as he edges closer to signing a new contract at Old Trafford.
The 32 year-old's current deal is set to run out at the end of the season, but is now reportedly close to extending his stay at the Red Devils after impressing in recent months. De Gea has signalled his willingness to accept a cut to his current £375,000-a-week wages to prolong his stay at the club.
United chose against activating a one-year option in De Gea's existing contract that would have kept him on the same wages for another season. Instead, the Red Devils are planning to hand him a new deal on less money despite being linked with new goalkeepers in the summer.
De Gea is the highest earner in the United squad ahead of Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane, Casemiro and Anthony Martial who make up the top five. Cristiano Ronaldo was top of that list on a whopping £480k-per-week, but departed United back in November after his explosive interview with Piers Morgan.
It is yet unknown whether his new proposed deal will drop him below Sancho in the pecking order after the Telegraph reported that De Gea is expected to sign a new contract. With De Gea now into his 12th season the Red Devils following his move from Atletico Madrid in 2011, he doesn't want to leave the club anytime soon and his recent form makes it an easy decision from both the player and the club.
"I hope so," De Gea said, when asked if he was confident he would finish his career at United. "I was saying this is my club, I’ve been here many, many years and it’s a huge honour to be here and I’m so happy here.
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"Yeah, I’m very relaxed [about the contract], just focussed on training, performing as best as I can. But, for sure, it’s going to end in a good way."
The Red Devils were linked with the likes of Yann Sommer, Diogo Costa and Kevin Trapp but Ten Hag kept faith with the shot-stopper and it has paid off. De Gea has now kept three clean sheets in a row in the Premier League and produced another impressive performance as the Red Devils ran out 3-0 winners over Bournemouth on Tuesday. United currently occupy fourth place but are level on points with Newcastle in third.
"It should be to come here - it should be a tough place for the teams," De Gea added. "Let’s see in the future. We are playing really well, we have to keep the momentum as much as we can and prepare for every game as a final and recover well.
"He’s [Ten Hag] doing well. He puts every player in the same direction and we feel like a proper team. Everyone wants to win, everyone wants to play for this club and that’s massive. He brought a great spirit to the team, we are playing really well and this is the way we have to show and keep the momentum as well.
After a rocky start to the campaign, where he conceded four times to Brentford in August, De Gea has responded well. The Spaniard was heavily criticised following the 4-0 defeat at the Brentford Community Stadium and there were rumours that Erik ten Hag could be in the market for a new No1.
But the Dutchman decided to sign a back-up goalkeeper instead as Martin Dubravka arrived from Newcastle on deadline day. While De Gea remained first-choice in the Premier League and Europa League, the Slovakian featured in the Carabao Cup - starting both matches against Aston Villa and Burnley before the Magpies' recalled him on January 1.
