David de Gea admits he almost signed for now relegated Premier League rival before Manchester United move

Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea has admitted that he could have signed for Wigan Athletic before moving to Old Trafford.

The Spanish shot-stopper joined the Reds prior to the 2011/12 season after impressing with Atletico Madrid - with United spending nearly £19million to bring him to the Premier League.

Despite enduring a difficult first season at United, the goalkeeper has gone on to make 494 appearances for the Reds, winning the Premier League, the Europa League, FA Cup and League Cup.

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However, the Spaniard has since revealed that he was previously in talks with Wigan about a move to the DW Stadium in 2009.

Asked if it was true that he was close to signing for the club by BT Sport’s What I Wore, De Gea replied: “Yes, that one [pointing to a Wigan Athletic shirt].

“Well I was in Atletico and it was the same season I made my debut and I was like the third keeper and not even count for the team much, just training. Nothing else.

“So Wigan got in contact with me just to sign for them and I was very, very close to sign for Wigan.”

Evidently, De Gea did not make the switch to Wigan and he went on to record 35 appearances for Atletico during the 2009/10 season - helping the LaLiga side to win the Europa League.

The goalkeeper remained as Atletico's first-choice shot-stopper for the following campaign before signing for United in 2011.

De Gea has maintained his position as the Reds' number one in recent years, and will feature in between the sticks in the majority of matches this term - with summer arrival Martin Dubravka and Tom Heaton set to challenge the Spaniard.

The 31-year-old has just a year remaining on his current contract