Real Madrid custodian Thibaut Courtois has refused to join Manchester United as part of a sensational swap deal that would’ve seen David de Gea join Los Blancos.
As per a report from The Sun, Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has snubbed a chance to join Manchester United in a swap deal that would have seen Real Madrid get their hands on long-term target David de Gea.
Courtois joined Real Madrid in the last summer transfer window in a €35 million deal, forcing a move away from Manchester United’s Premier League rivals Chelsea. However, things haven’t gone according to plans for the custodian in his first season at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The 26-year-old has featured 32 times for Real Madrid across all competitions in the 2018-19 campaign, letting in as many as 42 goals, having managed to keep just ten shut-outs. Courtois has drawn a lot of criticism from the Merengues’ supporters and following the arrival of Zinedine Zidane earlier this month, the Belgian’s No.1 status is under serious threat.
Zidane, in his first match in-charge upon returning to Real Madrid, reinstated Keylor Navas for the La Liga tie against Celta Vigo. Moreover, recent reports have claimed that the Frenchman is keen on launching an attempt to sign David de Gea from Manchester United.
And the aforementioned report from The Sun corroborates the story, further adding that Real Madrid have already held talks with Manchester United over the possibility of signing De Gea in the summer, with the reigning European champions willing to send Courtois the other way in a potential swap deal, which was snubbed by the Belgian.
Manchester United find themselves in a difficult situation as uncertainty looms over the future of De Gea. The Spaniard has gone on to establish himself as one of the best goalkeepers in the game currently and has been one of the very few consistent performers for the Red Devils in the post Sir Alex Ferguson era.
An integral member of the Manchester United team, De Gea had entered the final year of his contract with the club, which prompted them to trigger a one-year extension option. However, the Spanish international will be entering the last twelve months of his current deal at the end of the season.
Negotiations over a new deal have been going on for a while now, but the two parties haven’t been able to come to an agreement, which has cast a shadow of doubt on De Gea’s future. Should Manchester United fail to tie him up to a new deal, they risk losing their star goalkeeper in the summer window in a cut-price deal, or on a free transfer a year later.
Real Madrid seem to have reignited their interest in the former Atletico Madrid star and in all likelihood, will make another attempt to sign De Gea in the summer, which would spell an end for Courtois’ time with Los Blancos. However, with Courtois snubbing a transfer to Manchester United, a swap deal definitely seems off the table.
