Manchester United allegedly backed out of an agreement for David de Gea to extend his contract after the Spaniard had put pen to paper on a renewal.
As things stand, the Red Devils' all-time clean sheet leader will depart on a free transfer when his £375,000-a-week contract expires at the end of June.
De Gea's deal includes an option to extend his stay until the end of next season, but Man United will not trigger that clause, as such a scenario would keep the 32-year-old on his extortionate wages.
Instead, the Red Devils are hoping to tie De Gea down to a fresh contract with a significantly reduced salary, potentially slashing his pay packet by as much as £200,000 a week.
When announcing their released list for the 2023-24 season, Man United that talks were continuing with De Gea, who has been offered no guarantees that he will still be the club's new number one next season.
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Nevertheless, De Gea expressed optimism over a new contract with Man United earlier in the season, and according to The Athletic, an agreement was originally struck.
However, the Red Devils backed out of the accord after the Spain international had signed on the dotted line, and the club's fresh offer would put him on an even lower wage.
Following that recent episode, De Gea is now said to be considering his options and is yet to agree to Man United's latest offer amid interest from Saudi Arabia.
The Red Devils have been linked with a plethora of goalkeepers amid uncertainty over De Gea's future, namely Brentford's David Raya and Inter Milan's Andre Onana.
However, Brentford's £40m valuation of Raya has reportedly deterred both Man United and Tottenham Hotspur, the latter of whom are on the verge of signing Empoli's Guglielmo Vicario.
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In contrast, Man United are supposedly preparing to make their opening bid for Onana this week, although Inter could demand north of £50m to part ways with the Cameroonian.
Furthermore, it has been reported that Erik ten Hag is reluctant to sign a new number one, as the Red Devils boss is also on the hunt for additions in attack, midfield and the heart of defence.
De Gea won a second Premier League Golden Glove award with 17 top-flight clean sheets last season, keeping another eight clean sheets across the Europa League, FA Cup and EFL Cup, winning the latter competition.
The former Atletico Madrid man has now kept a record 190 clean sheets in 545 appearances for Man United, overtaking Peter Schmeichel's previous high of 180 in the EFL Cup final win over Newcastle United.
De Gea sits seventh in the club's all-time appearance charts - playing more games for the club than any other non-British player - but he was criticised for several notable errors last season.
Ben Knapton
