De Gea ‘TURNS DOWN’ Manchester United’s new contract offer as the club attempts to reduce wages

David de Gea reportedly turned down a new contract offer from Manchester United ahead of his contract expiring at the end of the season, but negotiations with the Spanish stopper are expected to be successful.

When De Gea signed his current contract in September 2019, United agreed to pay him £375,000 per week, making him the world’s highest-paid goalkeeper.

The 32-year-old joined Manchester United from Atletico Madrid in 2011 and has since made over 500 appearances for the club.

After a shaky start to the season, De Gea has been in fine form, recently passing Peter Schmeichel for the club’s all-time clean sheet record with 183.

According to The Athletic, while United want to extend his contract, they are more interested in reducing his huge salary, which De Gea realizes he must accept if he wants to stay at the club.

According to the report, when De Gea signed his current contract, the arrival of Alexis Sanchez on a deal worth more than £400,000 per week, combined with his status as United’s sole No. 1, gave De Gea leverage in negotiations with then-CEO Ed Woodward.

Following initial doubts about whether the 32-year-old could be Ten Hag’s long-term No. 1, the Dutchman has praised De Gea’s contribution this season, which has included a string of sensational saves at crucial moments in matches.

For example, in United’s 3-0 win over Leicester, the Spaniard’s save to deny Kelechi Iheanacho’s header was named the Premier League’s save of the month for February.

As a result, Ten Hag wishes to keep the goalkeeper at Old Trafford.

According to the report, De Gea has received a good offer, but he believes that his form and match-winning contributions show he is still one of the Red Devils’ most important players and that an appropriate salary should be paid.

While De Gea has struggled at times when playing out from the back, Ten Hag is known as a pragmatic coach who has learned to value the keeper’s worth while admitting that his distribution is something he is still working on.

As a result, instructions have been modified, and after a particularly erratic display of distribution in their 4-1 win over Real Betis earlier this month, he backed De Gea up.

‘I can’t ignore (his kicking), but we’ve seen many games where he did really well,’ Ten Hag said.

‘David is looking into it. He’s getting better, and I’m sure he’ll keep getting better.’

The report also suggests that Dean Henderson, who has spent the season on loan at Nottingham Forest, could be sold, with United determined to improve their ability to sell players at the right time.

Henderson has two years remaining on his contract, and two clubs have reportedly expressed interest in a permanent move following an impressive run of form for Steve Cooper’s side.

Back-up Tom Heaton is out of contract at the end of the season, while Jack Butland has yet to play since joining on loan from Crystal Palace in January.

United return to action on Sunday against Newcastle in a crucial battle for the top four.