Tying David de Gea down to a staggering new £19.5million-per-year contract is great business from Manchester United – as it would cost them three times that figure to buy a replacement.
That’s the verdict from Danny Mills, who believes the goalkeeper deserves his bumper new deal having ‘shown massive loyalty’ to the Red Devils.
According to reports, De Gea is set to sign a new six-year deal at Old Trafford worth an estimated £375,000-a-week to end the speculation over his long-term future at the club.
However, some have baulked at the money involved in the deal, especially on the back of the Spaniard’s worst-performing season of his entire career.
De Gea’s dreadful form began at last summer’s World Cup, where Spain were dumped out of the last-16 by Russia and he left the tournament with the worst statistics of any goalkeeper for 52 years.
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That form continued in a United shirt as he conceded 54 goals for the Red Devils last season – De Gea’s worst season of his career so far.
talkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan has slammed the Premier League club for their decision to give De Gea a new deal, saying they are ‘rewarding him for going backwards’.
But Mills disagrees and believes it’s smart business by Ed Woodward.
Speaking on Tuesday’s Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast, the former defender said: “De Gea only made a couple of mistakes at the World Cup, but that happens from time to time.
“He hasn’t been playing in a fantastic side and if you look at the saves he’s made and his quality…
“He’s a young goalkeeper, he knows the club inside and he’s shown massive loyalty when he could have gone to Real Madrid, but it didn’t happen.
“Most players would have thrown their toys out of the pram at that stage, but he didn’t, he came back, knuckled down, worked incredibly hard and was then their next player for the next three or four seasons.
“It’s smidge under £20m a year, and if you’re going to replace De Gea right now with a top quality keeper that’s going to cost you north of £60m.
“So they’ve almost got an outstanding goalkeeper for nothing for the next six years.”