David Raya has been given Manchester United transfer incentive by Erik ten Hag and Diogo Costa

"Yes, but I will not say he'll always be my No.1 because in a club like Man United there must be competition in all positions.”

That was the answer given by Erik ten Hag when he was asked whether David de Gea would be at Manchester United next season. His blunders have cost United dear at times this year, some putting Ilkay Gundogan’s FA Cup final winner in that category.

While many United fans are trying to gently put an arm around De Gea and say ‘you had a great run but it’s time to go’, others want to see him booted out of Old Trafford like one of his many failed long balls. That’d be no way to treat a club servant of 12 years.

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But either way, the consensus is that he needs to be replaced at some point soon and by signing an imminent reduced-terms deal, 32-year-old De Gea himself is conceding that. Finding a suitable goalkeeper replacement of sufficient quality is never an easy task.

Usually such moves spark a merry-go-round of transfers and this summer, Brentford may have started that chain reaction. David Raya is available after refusing to sign a new deal and he would be a worthy candidate to step into the role Gary Neville branded as “the hardest position in world football”.

Raya is part of a trio of goalkeepers including Unai Simon and Kepa Arrizabalaga that has seen De Gea ousted from the Spain national team squad, partly due to his skills on the ball. Ten Hag all but admitted that De Gea is not the best with the ball at his feet at Wembley on Saturday.

"Say it like this: we are in the right direction. But there are occasions in the game, issues in the game, we have to improve, definitely, if we want to make the next step and win trophies."

Ray