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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Samuel Meade

Gary Neville raises Man Utd transfer headache after Jose Mourinho's "lucky" blast

Gary Neville believes Manchester United could move for Brentford's David Raya amid continued uncertainty surrounding David de Gea's future at the club.

The Spaniard is coming to the end of a mammoth deal, which he signed in 2019, that sees him earn £375,000-a-week. His performances during that time have been inconsistent, but he has remained United's No 1 despite the emergence of Dean Henderson.

Erik ten Hag is keen to have greater competition in Manchester and may opt to change his goalkeeper should a credible alternative become available. Raya has been integral to an upwardly mobile Brentford side and Neville sees him as a potential fit.

He told The Overlap : "I think Raya would interest United in the summer. I went to watch Brentford a couple of weeks ago… I think he's going to become available, he's only got a year left. I think he could step up.

Neville has previously cited the difficulties of playing in goal for the Red Devils and doubled down on that adding: "It is a problem that. I've said it's the single most difficult position in English football being the Manchester United goalkeeper. I genuinely believe that. I think Liverpool's number one is the second.

"And that's not to be disrespectful to all other clubs, I think the Manchester United goalkeeper comes under more scrutiny if they make a mistake than any other position in English football on the pitch. It's tough! And I've seen lads in that goal [struggle]. That's the problem they've got. It's whether [a new goalkeeper] can handle that stadium."

David Raya has continued to flourish at Brentford (Julian Finney/Getty Images)

De Gea, who won the club's Player of the Year a record four times between 2014 and 2018 has not hit those heights during his current contract. The Spaniard has made high profile errors, albeit very few this year.

Jose Mourinho worked with De Gea for just over two seasons, but after leaving admitted that United paid over the odds to keep him. He told Sky Sports previously: "De Gea? I think the moment when he signed his huge contract, is the moment I don't think United needs to pay as much as that to have him. One or two years ago he had the world after him, in this moment, the majority of the big doors were closed.

The Special One went on to say: "I don't see the pressure. Who is going to pay David these numbers? (De Gea) gets a phenomenal contract in a moment where he's a bit lucky to get it. Is he good? Yes, he's very good."

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