De Gea to be confirmed by Manchester United on Monday
Published:Manchester United are to waste little time in announcing their successor to Edwin Van der Sar as reports in Spain suggest that the signing of David De Gea will be confirmed on Monday.
Van Der Sar will make his final Manchester United appearance in the Champions League final against Barcelona, with the Red Devils 13/8 to send him off with a bang by lifting the trophy.
The 40-year-old stated his intentions in January and a host of top European goalkeepers have been linked with Manchester United since.
Manuel Neuer appeared to be towards the top of this shortlist, but it seems increasingly likely that he will sign for Bayern Munich.
Meanwhile, Van Der Sar specifically put forward fellow Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg, but Manchester United have seemingly looked elsewhere away from the Ajax stopper.
Instead, Athletic Bilbao youngster De Gea has reportedly been picked to fill the big boots of Van Der Sar and Manchester United are set to pay an initial £18.3m for the Spanish under-21 goalkeeper, with further add-ons expected in the future.
Manchester United chief executive David Gill had previously remarked that the club knew who their number one target was and were confident of landing their man.
He said: “We know the keeper we want. We are in a good situation with that and it will progress at the end of the season.
“We have made a decision and I am sure that we can get a deal done.”
Manchester United are 13/8 in the Premier League odds next season to make it back-to-back titles, but they are sure to face stiff challenges from the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City.
Chelsea’s odds are 2/1, with Manchester City 9/2 as a big summer of spending in the transfer market is expected.
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