Keeping De Gea is BEST deal United can do

WHENEVER a big transfer takes place one question always springs to mind: Who has got the best end of that deal?

Sometimes it’s the buying club, (Liverpool over Virgil van Dijk) sometimes the selling club, (Leicester City over Danny Drinkwater) and sometimes it’s the player (Aaron Ramsey).

It’s purely subjective, of course, and a view has to be taken at the time of the move.

Various factors must be taken into consideration. The size of the fee, the age of the player, the ‘ fit’ with the club, relative standings of the clubs.

Having seen Van Dijk play a few times for Southampton, particularly in one goalless draw against the Reds at St Mary’s, it was a clear call for me.

Likewise with Drinkwater. He prospered in a certain system. It wasn’t one that Chelsea used. And as for Ramsey...

Now, he’s a very good player and Arsenal have dropped a huge clanger in allowing him to leave the Emirates for nothing.

But for that kind of money, even on a free, should ensure a return on the level of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi or even an Eden Hazard. Ramsey isn’t that. Not by a long stretch.

He isn’t a match-winner. At any time. Against the best.

But turning to a match- saver – having seen the headlines about David de Gea sticking to his demands of £350,000 per week to re-sign at Old Trafford – my original stance was going to be forthright.

Stuff him.

He’s a goalkeeper, for heaven’s sake. Three- hundred- and- fifty- grand a week? It’s no better when written out.

Now, there are three things about goalkeepers.

First, they make mistakes and everyone knows it. And secondly, not enough credit is ever given to defenders whenever keepers pick up awards for clean sheets.

But likewise, thirdly, there is never enough credit given to them within the context of games for saves that change the course of a match.

And the more I thought about De Gea in that context, the more I started to come down on the side of the Spanish keeper.

Of course, the figures are preposterous. We need to leave that to one side for a moment.

But didn’t the late Brian Clough make Peter Shilton the highest-paid footballer in the country when he bought him from Stoke 40 years ago?

In Peter Taylor he had a former goalkeeper as his assistant – so that may have skewed his thinking – but, relatively speaking, Old Big ‘Ead made his priorities clear. If De Gea signs, there is no transfer fee. And Manchester United, were they seeking a replacement, would have to find one. And find one better than the bloke between the sticks. There aren’t that many.

Even if Ole Gunnar Solskjaer decided, for example, that Jack Butland at Stoke was his man, the Potters would be demanding £ 40m and the player upwards of £200,000 a week. It adds up to the same.

And goalkeepers, while they can suffer dips in form are less prone to it than outfield players.

If De Gea’s output drops, it isn’t going to be as noticeable as Mesut Ozil’s, for example.

And lastly, while past performance is no guarantee of future returns, the fact that De Gea is happy and has won player of the season four years out of five at Old Trafford makes it a no-brainer.

So, in answer to the question at the top of this piece, who wins if De Gea re-signs?

Pretty much everyone. Get it done.