Man United MUST keep hold of David de Gea this summer, says former goalkeeping coach Eric Steele

David de Gea will set another Manchester United record at the London Stadium tonight as he scores his 540th goal for the club against West Ham.

The Spaniard will overtake Alex Stepney whose record of 539 games as United goalkeeper has stood for 45 years.

In February, De Gea beat Peter Schmeichel’s score of 180 to nil for United as he knocked out Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley.

De Gea’s personal achievements come at a time of uncertainty over his future at Old Trafford. The 32-year-old’s contract expires at the end of next month and he has yet to agree a new deal that will see his wages cut by £375,000 a week.

It is clear that United will be hoping to reach a compromise before De Gea goes free on a free transfer, although the club has an option to extend his current contract for a further 12 months.

De Gea (right) is currently in contract negotiations with United over a new contract that will see his salary cut

An important consideration for United is how much it would cost to replace De Gea when other parts of the team need reinforcements this summer.

Eric Steele, the goalkeeping coach who recommended De Gea to Sir Alex Ferguson and CEO David Gill before his £18.9m move from Atletico Madrid to Old Trafford in July 2011, is confident the player will be United’s number 1 for a number of years. can stay. of years yet.

“He’s still in his prime,” Steele told Mail Sport. “He is still young as a goalkeeper, but look at the experience. He won’t be far from 550 games by the end of the season, and that’s at 32 years old.

“I wouldn’t want him to lose to Manchester United and the Premier League. Hopefully they get this deal done and he will continue to be part of the Ten Hag era.

It’s up to David and the club. I think it’s about time it was resolved. We keep hearing that it will be resolved but we are now in May. His contract expires at the end of June. It would be nice to have an announcement to say which way it’s going.

“All I can say is I would be very sad to lose David after the 12 years he has been given.”

De Gea has been named United’s player of the year four times during his career at Old Trafford – a record he shares with Cristiano Ronaldo – winning one Premier League, one Europa League, the FA Cup and two League Cups.

United goalkeeping greats Peter Schmeichel and Edwin van der Sar were 39 and 41 respectively when they hung up their gloves, and Steele believes De Gea can do the same.

De Gea (pictured) will surpass Alex Stepney’s record of 45 years of appearances for United

‘Why not? He takes care of himself. Why can’t he do what Edwin and Peter did? He has been a great servant to the club and contributed to great times.

“In terms of every record he seems to break, he’s been phenomenal and no one is prouder than me. If he breaks Alex Stepney’s record, it’s something that will put him in the history books at Man United forever.”

Steele’s recommendation led to Ferguson missing a League Cup match against Scunthorpe in September 2010 to watch De Gea in Spain.

The 20-year-old had a rocky start in the Premier League as he adjusted to the physicality of English football, but Steele insists the club never hesitated to support him.

“No, no doubt,” he said. The great thing about Sir Alex was that he always invested in young players. But he had never signed a young goalkeeper.

Former United goalkeeper coach Eric Steele (centre) helped bring De Gea (right) to Old Trafford and supported the Spaniard to stay at the club for many years

Steele thinks De Gea can play for United until he is 39, as does former goalkeeper Edwin Van der Sar (pictured)

“We knew we were potentially buying and there was a lot more to come. We knew it would take time and Sir Alex gave him that time.

“The best thing about David is his character. He’s cool, he’s calm and calm. It just goes right over his head. If you make a mistake, wipe it off and start over. You have to have that strong character to play for United.

He’s had his ups and downs and he’s gotten through them. He has dealt with many managers since Sir Alex brought him in 2011 and many different coaches.

‘I actually said to the gaffer and David Gill, ‘If you sign this guy, you’re probably looking at someone who could be with us for 10 years’. Maybe I should reassess what I said and make it 15 years old.”