Beckham tipped to hand shock lifeline to Man Utd reject; eye-watering wage demands are an obstacle
David de Gea has reportedly emerged as a target for Inter Miami, with co-owner David Beckham looking to lure the goalkeeper to Major League Soccer.
Erik ten Hag decided against extending the Spain shot-stopper’s contract at the end of last season, bringing his 12-year stint at Old Trafford to an end.
Despite winning the Premier League Golden Glove last season after keeping 17 clean sheets, Ten Hag wanted a keeper with better ability with the ball and opted to sign Andre Onana to replace him.
De Gea left Man Utd well-liked by the club’s supporters. He made 545 appearances overall for the Red Devils, keeping 190 clean sheets.
In the process, the Spaniard helped his side to win eight major trophies, including one Premier League title and a Europa League.
De Gea has been linked with several clubs since leaving Man Utd, with Saudi teams among his suitors.
Rumours also surfaced last month that the Red Devils were considering bringing the shot-stopper back to Old Trafford to provide cover for Onana while he plays for Cameroon in the Africa Cup of Nations in the New Year.
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However, four months on De Gea remains a free agent and has even considered retiring.
It now seems that Beckham could hand the 33-year-old a chance to reignite his football career in the United States.
According to The Sun, Inter Miami are poised to make an approach for De Gea, and a move to Florida ‘holds some appeal’ for the keeper.
The potential arrival of De Gea would be another significant coup for the MLS team, who have already swooped for Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.
Inter Miami may have to reshuffle their squad to comply with MLS rules to bring De Gea in, however.
They have three Designated Player slots occupied by Messi, Busquets and Leonardo Campagna. A Designated Player in MLS is a player who is signed to the team outside of the salary cap.
Alba, a former international teammate of De Gea’s, took a drastic pay cut to join Messi and Busquets in Miami. He was signed as a TAM (‘Target Allecation Money’ player)- on a deal worth around $1.7m-a-year.
There would be nothing stopping De Gea also taking a pay cut, but given he reportedly snubbed a $500,000-a-week move to the Saudi Pro League, it seems unlikely he’ll follow Alba’s lead.
With that in mind, it will be interesting to see if Miami offload Messi, Busquets – or more likely Campagna – to make room for De Gea.
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