Manchester United speak on selling David De Gea

David De Gea making a classic save. [Courtesy]

Manchester United have spoken on selling their superstar goalkeeper David De Gea.

United will not be forced into selling David De Gea this summer — even if they fail to agree a new contract with him.

United have been in talks with goalkeeper De Gea and his representatives for 18 months now, but no deal has yet been reached.

De Gea, who has a year left on his current contract, is understood to want in excess of £350,000 a week, and the club and his camp have yet to reach a compromise figure.

While United want the 28-year-old Spain international to stay, and he is also said to want to continue an Old Trafford career that began in 2011, an impasse has been reached in talks and there is no sign of a compromise being reached.

Despite that, United are understood to be under no financial pressure to sell and could allow De Gea to enter the final season of his deal with his future still unresolved.

That would raise the prospect of the Red Devils losing a £75million-rated star for nothing next summer, if no extension is agreed, but they remain hopeful of coming to terms.

United's 2-1 defeat at Wolves on Tuesday, their third loss in four games under newly-appointed permanent boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, has focused attention on the deficiencies within their squad.

Solskjaer is looking to add at least three players this summer, although that figure is likely to increase — with at least five departures expected, they will have to be replaced.

Antonio Valencia, Marcos Rojo and Matteo Darmian are all set to leave. Ander Herrera and Juan Mata could join them, as both are out of contract at the end of the season.

United have been speaking to Herrera and Mata's agents for 18 months, but the wage demands of both players has prevented contract extensions from being agreed and time is now running out.

A short-list of targets has been drawn up by Solskjaer and executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward that includes Borussia Dortmund's £100m-rated England teenage international Jadon Sancho. Chelsea midfielder Callum Hudson-Odoi, Crystal Palace full-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Napoli centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly are also on the radar.

Other players scouted by United ahead of the summer window include Sporting Lisbon midfielder Bruno Fernandes and Benfica attacker Joao Felix, both of whom were identified as targets by former boss Jose Mourinho before he got sacked in December to make way for Solskjaer.

There is an acceptance at the club that strategic investment in the squad, rather than simply throwing money at big names, is the way forward if they are to stand any chance of reclaiming their former standing as one of the leading sides both domestically and in Europe.

A shift to buying younger players, focusing on a core of home-grown talent, is the policy going forward, with the club willing to arm Solskjaer with the necessary funds to buy 'game-changing' individuals who can get a club that last won the title in 2013 back to challenging for major trophies.