Jose reveals his De Gea deal fears
BOSS SAYS HE’S ‘NOT CONFIDENT’ KEEPER WILL SIGN NEW CONTRACT
JOSE Mourinho admits he is ‘not confident’ of David de Gea signing a new contract at United, but added he is ‘also not worried’ about the situation. The 27-year-old has entered the final year of his contract at Old Trafford but the Reds have the option of triggering a one-year extension on his current deal – and that appears a mere formality. Indeed, United have never been more confident of tying down their No.1 beyond that after the Spaniard’s longtime suitors, Real Madrid, completed the signing of Thibaut Courtois in the summer.
De Gea’s partner of eight years, Edurne, has moved to Manchester and the goalkeeper said he was ‘really happy’ at United just last month.
M.E.N. Sport previously reported both camps remain ‘optimistic’ a new deal will finally be agreed and De Gea has again been moved by the support of United, ‘especially the fans’, following a turbulent World Cup. But, when asked about the goalkeeper signing a new deal, amid reports linking him with a move to Juventus, Mourinho was not so sure.
“I am not confident, but I’m also not worried,” he told Sky Sports . “I cannot find the word in English, but let’s see what happens.
“Only the club, David and his people can answer that. My comment is only that everyone knows how good he is, how important he is for Manchester United and if the club want to be better than it is and not worse, obviously it would be very important to keep David.”
De Gea and Mourinho are both represented by super agent Jorge Mendes.
JOSE Mourinho says Alexis Sanchez is ‘struggling’ with his condition and the Chilean is unavailable for United’s weekend visit of Everton.
Sanchez will not be available for the Premier League fixture with Everton tomorrow after he missed the Champions League defeat to Juventus on Tuesday with an abductor problem.
The 29-year-old emerged late on in the 2-2 draw with Chelsea last week but only arrived back in London from international duty with Chile on the Thursday night.
The Reds told Sanchez to stay in the capital and rendezvous with his team-mates ahead of the Stamford Bridge match after he played in Queretaro, Mexico, on Wednesday night. However, United’s medical staff were unhappy with Sanchez’s state when they examined him on the Friday before the Chelsea fixture.
After United’s final pre-season game in the US on August 1, Mourinho said: “Some of my players will be in an amazing condition. Imagine Alexis Sanchez fresh, the way the man is running after playing four matches, 90 minutes, I think he is in a fantastic condition.” But the United manager admits Sanchez is now struggling.
“In this moment he’s struggling because he’s injured,” Mourinho said.
“And he’d come to the Chelsea match to try to help the team but his physical condition was not good. And then he had to stop and was not available for Juventus and I believe he is not available for Everton again.
“So now the point is to be physically in the best conditions. Arrived January, in the first period of the season, for him the last period of the season last season.
“I don’t think is ever an easy situation for a player but this season he had a good start, he had a good preseason he start well against Leicester, and then he was injured, then he came back and then he was injured again.
“So he is struggling with his condition and I think he is the kind of player that needs to be really, really sharp to play his best game.”