David De Gea pens new Man United deal and admits "delight" at fresh chapter
Football
By
Mirror
| Sep 11, 2015
David De Gea has put pen to paper on a new four-year deal at Manchester United to complete a sensational U-turn.
The Spain goalkeeper looked destined for Real Madrid all summer, and agreed a deal with the ten-time European Cup winners on deadline day.However, following the awkward collapse of the deal - with both clubs blaming each other - De Gea has been welcomed back into the fold by Louis van Gaal and United have taken advantage of the "broken" relationship between Jorge Mendes and Florentino Perez to tie up an agreement for a renewal of his deal that expires in June.
And the man himself admits is delighted to have put speculation surrounding his future to bed and committed himself to United.
“I am delighted to be starting this new chapter in my United career. I have always enjoyed playing with these great players in front of our fantastic fans," he said.
"I’m looking forward to putting a difficult summer behind me and concentrating on working hard to improve and help my teammates to be successful.”
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Boss Louis van Gaal, who left De Gea out of the first team until the close of the transfer window, is equally happy to have his number one tied down.
“I am absolutely delighted David has signed a new contract," he added. "He is one of the best goalkeepers in world football.
"I am very pleased that he will be part of the team for many years to come. David made a very important contribution to our performance last season and he has been the club’s Player of the Year for the last two seasons.
"He is a popular player who is keen to learn and enhance his game. At such a young age for a goalkeeper, he has many years ahead of him.”
The new contract is expected to have plenty of get-outs for the 24-year-old, but Manchester United would at least be handsomely remunerated for the goalkeeper should he leave Old Trafford now, having feared he would leave for nothing on a Bosman next summer.
Real Madrid president Perez made clear in a radio interview on Wednesday night that he was happy with the three goalkeepers available to the Bernabeu club.
And in what seemed to be a pointed political statement he took time to claim that Jorge Mendes didn't have excessive control over Real Madrid.
“Jorge Mendes doesn’t influence Real Madrid," he said. “At Real Madrid Jorge Mendes has three players: Cristiano, Pepe and James Rodriguez. "These are the three best players that he represents."