David de Gea saga proves what Manchester United need the most from a takeover

At first, it seemed certain he would stay, then it seemed certain he would go. A day before his Manchester United contract officially expires, it is still unclear what David de Gea will do next.

The 32-year-old will not technically be a United player this weekend, though the expiration of his contract does not mean he won't end up signing a new one eventually either.

De Gea would be free to sign for anyone he wishes, but that has been the case for any non-Premier League sides since January, given he could have struck a pre-contract agreement.

The Spaniard is now most likely to leave after United withdrew a contract that had been provisionally agreed upon, and he might well have lost patience to negotiate again with a club that is as much to blame for this mess as he is.

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United's uncertain takeover situation and budget make it hard to plan properly for the rest of the window, which explains why they have dragged De Gea along this year, just in case they decide they still need him for another year.

It could be too late, though. There might be no way back for United to repair their relationship with the shot-stopper, and now they need to hope that no matter what happens, they will be able to afford the calibre of goalkeeper they want.

This is hardly the look of a club that is trying to reinvent itself in the transfer market and shake off its previous reputation as poor planners who operate on instinct rather than instruction.

United are often criticised for this lack of long-term thinking, and they are still picking up the pieces from past managerial mistakes in which they either picked the wrong person or got carried away and backed