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After such a good back end of the season for David De Gea, it seems odd to some, that we should be speculating about the Spanish keeper leaving Manchester United.
But soccersweep has always maintained that Manchester United was only ever perceived by De Gea as a semi-permanent home.

De Gea is easily good enough to play for Manchester United for the next decade but you get the strong sense that he is simply waiting for the top keeper job to become available at Real Madrid or Barcelona. Unless he goes off the rails and his form dips hugely, it is surely destined to be this way. It’s sad for Manchester United fans, who have become enamoured by his cat-like agility and reflexes, but it’s going to happen people.

De Gea Today Gone Tomorrow?

So, as far as we are concerned, it’s not so much a question of if De Gea leaves Manchester United as when. Iker Casillas is only 31 but has been in and out of the Madrid side this season due to injury and differences of opinion with Jose Mourinho. But, with Mourinho increasingly likely to leave Real Madrid this summer, Casillas should remain as first choice for a while yet. Coming from Real’s fierce rivals Atletico Madrid, you might imagine it would be less complicated for De Gea to make a switch to Barcelona anyway.

Barca’s first choice keeper Victor Valdes is also 31 and, like Casillas, hasn’t had his best season between the sticks. But Barcelona have been quick to tell the press that Valdes retains their confidence. So Manchester United fans can probably rest easy for another year at least. But, at some stage, Manchester United will have to think about finding a long-term solution.

Asmir Begovic seems to get mentioned every time a big club needs a keeper – and not without good reason. He’s very much like Chelsea stalwart Peter Cech in terms of playing style and overall presence and command of his area. He’s got the perfect physique for The Premier League and he is literally and figuratively a very safe pair of hands.

Hart set on United?

But we just wonder whether Joe Hart may, deep down, feel that his true calling is Manchester United. He has praised them of late as a ‘killing machine’ and may crave the sort of unflinching unity and family environment that Manchester United so amply provides. After a few mistakes this season, he’s had his fair share of criticism from Roberto Mancini and has had to watch City’s FA Cup run from the bench. He recently said of City’s league fortunes:

‘I don’t know what is different to last season. I’d love to know. It would have been rectified. We’ve done well, but we have been up against a killing machine that has kept turning out results no matter what.’

Of course, Hart doesn’t lack for quality around him at City but the nature of the club, with its billionaire owners and fast-tracked plans for success, is that it’s always changing. While Manchester United deal in slow evolution, you never know quite know who will be at City in 6 months time, in terms of management or playing staff. Although Roberto Mancini has done a superb job in our eyes, you wouldn’t put a lot of money on him being there in a year would you? Hart clearly lives for football. He’s one of those players who gets to the top because he is utterly dedicated to being the best. He takes football more seriously than most and simply wants to win as much as possible in his career.

It would be a very difficult transfer due to the geographical and competitive proximity of the clubs. But we think that even Joe Hart himself may, at some stage recently, have considered that Manchester United and not City, may be a more suitable long term home, if he is to sate his vast sporting ambitions.

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