Premier League giants Manchester United are increasingly frustrated with the unwillingness of their goalkeeper David De Gea to commit to a long-term deal with the club. This, combined with De Gea’s poor form in recent weeks, has now reportedly inspired Man Utd to seek a replacement for the 28-year-old Spaniard with Atletico Madrid’s goalie Jan Oblak emerging as their top target.
Although Oblak signed a new deal with Atletico in April, he has a buyout clause of $135 million. It is believed that United would gladly pay this amount as he is considered one of the best goalkeepers in the world.
David De Gea, who has one year left on his contract, was considered to be one of Manchester United’s best players in the recent five years but has made several costly mistakes in this season including the abysmal error against Chelsea over the weekend. United got to a 1-0 lead early in the game, but towards the end of the first half, De Gea made a poor intervention which resulted in Chelsea goal. The game remained tied and even further jeopardized Manchester’s hopes of reaching the Champions League next season.
Jan Oblak has been linked with several top European teams in the past few years but has stated on several occasions that he would like to remain with Atletico Madrid. According to sources close to the club, however, Oblak might rethink his decision if Atletico fails to strengthen the team in the near future and allow him to compete with rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid in La Liga.
