David de Gea is the chosen one to be the next
Real Madrid goalkeeper. The player earmarked
by Vicente del Bosque for a "soft transition" to
replace Casillas for Spain could also be Iker's
successor at the Bernabéu.
'Los Blancos' and De Gea have agreed
comprehensive terms, but the most difficult and
tortuous part is yet to come - negotiations with
Manchester United.
At the Real Madrid offices in Concha Espina,
Florentino Pérez and those around him have
been quite clear about the fact that signing a
keeper for next season is a top priority. And
they firmly believe that De Gea is going to be
the Spanish no. 1 over the next ten years, and
will take over from Casillas in due course.
The club rates this factor very highly, that
whoever inherits the mantle from a legend such
as Iker should also be a Spanish goalkeeper,
someone who could follow in the veteran's
distinguished footsteps for club and country.
Once De Gea became aware that Real Madrid's
interest was serious, the idea of renewing his
contract with United, up in 2016, was dropped.
Since then, the shotstopper has rejected a string
of big-money offers from the suits at Old
Trafford, the last of which was worth 7.5
million a season after tax.
It is worth noting that De Gea's agent, Jorge
Mendes, has a fantastic relationship both with
Florentino Pérez and with the United owners. He
was instrumental in the talks between Real
Madrid and De Gea and now has a key role to
play to broker a transfer. The Red Devils higher-
ups do not want De Gea to go, but have had to
face the fact that the Atlético academy graduate
wants to leave. That doesn't mean they are
going to make it easy, however
or cheap.
If it weren't for his contractual situation, De
Gea, who turns 25 in November, would easily be
worth 50m, as he is viewed as one of the top
goalies in the world alongside Thibaut Courtois
and Manuel Neuer. United forked out 20m to
prise him from the Calderón in 2011 and his
stock has only risen since then. Real Madrid are
willing to pay a world-record fee for a
goalkeeper to land their man, but they remain
hopeful that they can secure his signature for
no more than 30m.