UNITED V SWANSEA Mourinho keeping an eye on Oblak...

UNITED appear to be planning for life after David de Gea after the representatives of Altetico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak jetted in to the city.

The Reds’ goalkeeper has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid after previously coming close to moving to the Bernabeu in 2015.

Mourinho’s remark that the 26-year-old was ‘sleeping’ towards the end of the 0-0 draw with West Brom earlier this month is believed to have irked the Spaniard.

And De Gea has reportedly put his £3.85m luxury home in Bowdon up for sale, fuelling talk of a big-money move to Madrid in the summer.

One replacement Mourinho appears to be looking at is Atletico Madrid stopper Oblak, who was named La Liga’s best goalkeeper last season after conceding just 18 goals.

M.E.N. Sport understands the Slovenian’s representative was in the UK this week for talks ahead of a potential move to Old Trafford in the summer. Oblak has an £85m release clause in his contract at Atletico and three clubs are believed to be in the running for his signature.

The Slovenian, who speaks fluent English, is ‘very close’ to team-mates Antoine Griezmann and Jose Gimenez, who have both been linked with summer moves to Old Trafford.

“I think for every player it is an honour to come to the UK and play for clubs like this one,” a source close to Oblak previously told M.E.N. Sport.

“If De Gea goes back to Spain, everything is possible.” WAYNE Rooney could return to a central midfield role for United after their injury crisis worsened at City.

Timothy Fosu-Mensah suffered a late injury during the derby having come on after Marouane Fellaini was sent off for headbutting Sergio Aguero.

Fellaini will serve a threematch suspension and Jose Mourinho said Fosu-Mensah has an ‘important injury,’ which could afford Rooney a return to the midfield role he slotted into under Louis van Gaal last season.

“Yes, he’s an option,” Mourinho said of Rooney. “We don’t have any other central midfield options.

“We have Herrera and Carrick and nothing else.”

Rooney has started just two Premier League fixtures this calendar year and has not been considered a first-teamer since he was dropped in late September.

The 31-year-old’s only outing in midfield under Mourinho came at Watford - Rooney’s last game as an automatic starter in the Premier League before he was dropped against Leicester six days later.

United’s depleted squad has left them with just two specialist central midfielders in Ander Herrera and Michael Carrick ahead of tomorrow’s match with Swansea at Old Trafford.

Mourinho also revealed he would have preferred to keep Morgan Schneiderlin and Bastian Schweinsteiger at the club but both players agitated to leave.

Schneiderlin left United in a £22m move to Everton in January, while Schweinsteiger joined MLS team Chicago Fire last month.

Reserves midfielder Sean Goss also departed in January to join Queens Park Rangers and Mourinho acknowledged mulling over their futures was a dilemma.

“Our decision, our decision,” Mourinho stressed of the decision to let them leave.

“To have lots of players without playing is something that the players don’t want.

“We didn’t tell Morgan, ‘We want to sell you,’ Morgan asked and said, ‘Please sell me, I want to go and play every game.’

“So sometimes there is always this dilemma of keeping a bigger squad, but then the players don’t want to stay.

“Even the younger players, when they are not playing, they ask to leave, so it’s very hard and we arrive in an extreme situation where, I think it must be unique in football, where we have two cruciate ligaments in the same match.

“In my career I had one in 17 years. One cruciate in 17 years.

“And now, against Anderlecht, I have two. In one match.

“We are very unlucky is the only thing we can say, and the other small injuries, the Pogba one, Valencia last week, are the injuries of fatigue, the accumulation of matches, which is normal.

“Smalling and Jones were with the English national team, training.

“So maybe it’s a blessing, an opportunity to make the team stronger.

“Maybe it’s an opportunity to make them mentally stronger.

“Maybe it’s a blessing, so let’s see if they can comeback.”