Lloris drops another hint that he’s keen to replace De Gea at United
HUGO LLORIS has reiterated his “personal ambition” to play Champions League football on the day it is claimed Real Madrid are close to agreeing a price for Manchester United’s David de Gea.
The Tottenham goalkeeper has been linked with a move to Old Trafford should De Gea depart this summer but United are desperate to keep hold of the Spaniard, who has been voted the club’s Player of the Year for the last two seasons.
De Gea’s agent, Jorge Mendes, is set to meet with Real president Florentino Perez later this week with the player keen on a move despite United offering him £200,000 a week to sign an extension to his contrac t, which has 12 months left to run.
The Spani sh press has long pre - empted an agreement between Real and United but this morning Marca became the first to quote figures with suggestions of an initial €25million fee (£18.4m) plus a further €5m (£3.7m) in add-ons having been agreed.
Should that deal be finalised, it will trigger an intriguing reshuffle with United on the search for a new goalkeeper to compete with Victor Valdes.
Lloris is one of a number of possible targets and the Frenchman has done little to dampen speculation by repeatedly stating his desire to play in Europe’s premier competition. Earlier in the week, Lloris said “for the moment there is a goalkeeper at United and we are watchful of the situation” and since then he told French TV of his need for Champions League football in part because Euro 2016 is on the horizon.
“Everyone has Champions League wishes, not just because it is the season before the Euros,” he said. “It is a goal and a personal ambition. The Champions League remains an important competition, where the level is the highest in Europe so obviously we want to participate with the biggest teams. I keep a certain serenity over all that [transfers] and we’ll see how things develop.”
Another intriguing element is that should De Gea arrive at Real, Iker Casillas is likely to be available with Arsenal among the interested clubs. The Gunners would prefer to sign Petr Cech from Chelsea but they are awaiting the outcome of a meeting between the player’s representatives and the Blues next week before making a formal move.
Chelsea are reluctant to sell to Arsenal and although they have told Cech they will not stand in his way, any English club are likely to pay a premium given the Blues’ preference to sell to an overseas team.
To complicate the picture further, United have also expressed an interest in Cech should De Gea depart, especially given Chelsea would demand around £10m while Spurs are expected to want around twice the £11.8m they paid Lyon for Lloris in 2012.