Manchester United are reportedly considering allowing David de Gea to leave Old Trafford when his existing deal expires in June.
The 32-year-old's contract runs out at the end of the season, but Erik ten Hag's side have the option to extend it by a further 12 months. Fellow United stars Marcus Rashford, Diogo Dalot, Luke Shaw, Fred, Phil Jones and Tom Heaton are in a similar situation.
Rumours of De Gea's exit coincides with United's interest in Borussia Monchengladbach goalkeeper Yann Sommer, who is also out of contract in June. The Swiss stopper, 33, represented his country at the World Cup in Qatar and has played 634 club games.
As reported by Sky Sports in Germany, United are not considering automatically extending De Gea's contract by a further 12 months at this stage. It's believed Ten Hag is open to signing a new first-choice goalkeeper, but De Gea wants to extend his stay at Old Trafford.
After Cristiano Ronaldo left United by mutual consent last month, De Gea is now the club's best-paid player on a reported £375,000-a-week. It seems unlikely the Red Devils will give the Premier League-winning goalkeeper another long-term contract on that wage.
According to Salary Sport, Sommer is earning £62,000-a-week at Monchengladbach in comparison. It's likely he would receive a substantial pay rise if he joined United on a free transfer, but he wouldn't be paid anywhere near as much as De Gea currently earns.
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As such, De Gea may need to drop his wages significantly to secure another long-term contract at Old Trafford. There's no doubting the Spaniard's quality, as he's been included in the PFA Team of the Year five times and has won the Premier League Golden Glove.
United are enduring their toughest spell in generation. They've won just three major trophies since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in May 2013, but De Gea's form has rarely wavered. He's won a joint-record four club Player of the Year awards during the last nine years.
If Ten Hag is to make a decision on De Gea's future, he must do it sooner rather than later. Overseas clubs are allowed to formally negotiate a pre-contract agreement with him once he enters the final six months of his United deal on January 1.
The Red Devils are expected to make an announcement on the futures of De Gea, Rashford, Shaw, Dalot, Fred, Jones and Heaton between now and New Year's Day to avoid losing certain players on a free transfer next summer.
Ten Hag has hinted at keeping all of these players on board, including De Gea. He recently told reporters: "We are talking with them to extend their contracts but we are in control because on all the players we have options and we will exercise these options."
When asked specifically about De Gea, he said: "Like I say, we have options and we will do them."
United are considering using that pre-contract agreement clause to sign Sommer. The 80-cap international has played in several major tournaments and the Champions League. He was named in the Bundesliga Team of the Season during the 2019/20 term.
"I am currently having very open talks with the club [about an extension]," said Sommer in the summer. "I admit that it took me a lot of time to process the past season and to think about everything that happened [Monchengladbach finished 10th in the Bundesliga]."
