David has really warmed to life in Manchester
DAVID de Gea was recently back in Spain with United in Seville, where shirts, shorts and sun cream were required.
Reds supporters bathed in the sunshine at the Plaza de Espana and admired the glorious gardens of Real Alcázar on their Game of Thrones tours.
They will hope United draw Sevilla in the Champions League again next season.
Away from the sunshine, his partner Edurne Garcia appears to have embraced Manchester’s chill factor. “Let it snow,” she wrote on her Instagram page as she admired the flakes gliding to the ground last week as the Beast from the East bit.
The couple are settled in Cheshire with their Chow Chow dog, Maxo, three years after they were planning a permanent return to the Spanish capital.
De Gea’s worth has increased and he is happier under a manager who made it his priority to retain him nearly two years ago.
If a United player deserves to be indulged, it is De Gea and Jose Mourinho arranged for his former Atletico Madrid mentor Emilio Alvarez to shadow the Spaniard with goalkeeping coach Silvino Louro.
As long as De Gea remains in Manchester, Real will remain interested.
The 27-year-old is unlikely to agitate, what with being Mourinho’s Jorge Mendes stablemate, and has ‘never sounded more optimistic’ about life at United than under the current manager.
The club is prepared to offer him improved terms and De Gea could justifiably demand parity with Alexis Sanchez as he prepares to regain the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year statue.
United have also received a transfer advantage. If De Gea is unattainable for Madrid then their ideal alternative is Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois. The 25-year-old spent three years on loan at Atletico and his two children reside in Madrid with their Spanish mother. Courtois candidly confessed in early February ‘my heart is in Madrid’ and his daughter has already visited Atleti’s wondrous Wanda Metropolitano stadium. De Gea, Courtois and Manuel Neuer have been the constant top three keepers in the last five years and the Belgian has entered the last 18 months of his contract. Even in the post-Neymar market, Courtois could be acquired for a frugal fee as negotiations with Chelsea drag on. United are unlikely to complain as the speculation over Courtois’ future intensifies and overshadows De Gea’s future. Samuel Luckhurst