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Manchester United have used their old David de Gea tactic against him for Erik ten Hag

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Credit: IMAGO / Paul Marriott

Manchester United have used their own tactic that kept David de Gea at Manchester United in 2015 against the player in order to force him out in 2023.

David de Gea‘s Manchester United contract expires on 30 June 2023, with no agreement yet reached on signing a new deal under Erik ten Hag before the deadline.

This is in stark contrast to how the Spaniard was viewed at the club just half a decade ago, where he established himself as one of the best shot-stoppers in world football.

Read More: Roy Keane disagrees with Erik ten Hag as Man United agree terms for Mason Mount

In 2015, David de Gea looked set to sign for Real Madrid for a fee of £29 million in a deal that would see Keylor Navas move the other way on deadline day.

However, in an incredibly dramatic turn of events, Manchester United went back on their agreement with Madrid and failed to send the relevant documents on time, claiming that their fax machine – which was required in order to fill out Spanish tax forms – was faulty, and the entire deal collapsed.

Whether or not this faulty fax machine was a genuine error or a sneaky play by United to make sure the deal did not go through we will never know, but one thing is for sure – United’s actions, intentional or not, saw the club go back on their agreement last minute in order to get what they want.

Fast forward to 2023, and United have pulled a similar trick, but this time it is to rid themselves of David de Gea.

Latest reports have suggested that the reason a final agreement has yet to be reached is that although a contract was put in place for the ‘keeper to stay, the club went back on their offer last minute and presented a second contract on even further reduced wages.

In parallel to this, it is said that Erik ten Hag is now looking for a new first-choice goalkeeper to replace De Gea, with a deal reportedly set to be agreed soon with Inter Milan for the transfer of André Onana.

Once again, this is a move that has seen United make a last-minute move to undermine the relevant opponent in order to get what they, and in this case, Erik ten Hag wants.

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