De Gea will be the go-to goalkeeper of Manchester United for at least until 2025. This massive contract simply highlights how committed the club is to the 28-year-old goalkeeper. De Gea is reciprocating this with a recent statement that he is keen into taking a more influential role in the club, and happy to stand as the captain.
In a statement, De Gea said, "I've been captain for some games. Of course, it is amazing to be captain of a club like Manchester United and defend this badge. It's amazing, so of course, I'll be really, really happy to captain."
De Gea joined Manchester United in 2011. Since then he has racked up various commendations, including a record four club's player of the year award.
De Gea's new contract, while hailed by many analysts as fair, was not received quite well by some analysts. This dismay did not come unwarranted though. It is important to note that the new contract came at a time when De Gea posted his worst season with Manchester United. Last season, De Gea conceded 54 goals while wearing the Red Devils uniform. This is, by far, the worst season of his career.
De Gea's international outing with the Spanish national team also did not end well after they were knocked out by Russia during the last World Cup's round-of-16. During the penalty shootout, De Gea was not able to stop a single Russian penalty. He also posted one of the worst goalkeeper statistics in 52 years. Opponents managed to send seven shots into Spain's goal, six of which ended up on the net.
Whether De Gea can recover from these slump is yet to be known. However, it would appear that Manchester United continues to hold onto him is a sign of the club's commitment, and it should be enough to bolster De Gea's confidence.
De Gea has also shown great loyalty towards the Red Devils. In 2015, he was just seconds away from signing a transfer deal with Real Madrid. Instead, because communication error that invalidated the transfer, De Gea decided to sign a new four-year deal with Manchester.
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer still has a lot of aspects to finalize before the start of the season. The manager has yet to pick who will get the post once held by Antonio Valencia, who left the club this summer.
