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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Tyrone Marshall

Erik ten Hag makes David de Gea Manchester United contract claim after penalty save

Erik ten Hag insists David de Gea will sign a new contract at Manchester United and said the goalkeeper epitomised the improvement in his team this season.

De Gea began the campaign under pressure after a couple of mistakes in the 4-0 defeat at Brentford in August, but he ended it by making his first penalty save at Old Trafford since 2014, denying Aleksandar Mitrovic during the 2-1 win against Fulham.

Ten Hag said De Gea's save, which came when Fulham already led 1-0 through a Kenny Tete header, was the turning point in the game and played down fears it could have been the goalkeeper's last appearance at Old Trafford.

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The 32-year-old's contract expires at the end of next month when he could walk away for free, but Ten Hag insists the two parties will come to an agreement to prolong his stay at the club after 544 appearances.

"I have to repeat, last game, last week, every time, we want him to stay, he wants to stay, we will find each other," said Ten Hag.

"It shows you can progress, it was a great save, it’s a step up in his performance. I think that it’s a symbol for our team during the season, good is not good enough, you have to do better, it was a great save in the right moment of the game. We turned the game and we win the game."

De Gea has started every Premier League game this season, but Ten Hag did make six changes from the team that beat Chelsea 4-1 on Thursday.

He said part of that was to bring fresh legs into the side and also to give some players the chance to stake a claim for a place in his FA Cup final side.

"All season I never talk about 11 players, I talk about a squad, in several positions the difference is not that huge, we needed that," said Ten Hag.

"We played Thursday once again and they had a week to prepare, I wanted a fresh team on the pitch but also players could present them for the cup final. I want to see different things, I think the team and the squad performed well."

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