David de Gea could be swayed to join Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq if the price is right | OneFootball

David de Gea is reportedly being targeted by Saudi club, Al-Ettifaq, as the Spanish goalkeeper continues his search for a new club since leaving Manchester United in the summer.

The Spanish keeper left Old Trafford after 12 years, 545 appearances and eight trophies in the summer. The United legend was seemingly offered a new contract, yet it was snatched away from him as the club opted for a goalkeeping revolution, bringing in Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir.

Interestingly, Al-Ettifaq are currently managed by Liverpool legend, Steven Gerrard. The former Liverpool captain has been full of praise for United players of late, recently labelling Cristiano Ronaldo the best of all time. These comments most likely did not go down too well on Merseyside.

According to teamtalk.com , Gerrard’s Saudi Arabian club could be De Gea’s next destination.

Inevitably, since the former Spanish national team number one left the club, he has been linked to a plethora of different clubs. The Peoples Person has reported that he has drawn attention from teams in Spain like Real Madrid and most recently Real Betis.

It was even thought at one point that the goalkeeper might make a shock return to United to provide cover for Andre Onana if he went to the African Cup of Nations in the winter.

De Gea has also been linked to the United States to join up with another Manchester United legend, David Beckham at Inter Miami and a range of other former La Liga stars, most notably, Lionel Messi.

Despite all the hot air, no move has yet materialised, in fact, the former United number one has also been linked numerous times to the Gulf region. It has also been reported here that the Spanish keeper has also recently turned down the advances of Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr.

However teamtalk.com put forward the idea that the keeper might be tempted by Gerrard’s team. The outlet claims that “although his form had declined in recent years, it is somewhat surprising that a player of his pedigree is still without a club”.

The source does mention that the move would be surprising as they claim De Gea does not have any interest in moving to the Middle East for family reasons.

However, Gerrard’s team’s goalkeeper is 36 years old and the team sit 7th in the Saudi Pro League, so certainly could be interested in bringing in a player of De Gea’s calibre.

The website goes on to claim that “if Al-Ettifaq can meet De Gea’s wages, though, there is an implication that he could join the same club as Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum and Demarai Gray”.

However, such a move may be more likely to happen in the summer as Saudi clubs need to balance how many foreign players are in their squads and the wages they are on. No doubt the Spanish international would demand a large one, seemingly already having turned down £500,000 a week from Al-Nassr.

The Al-Ettifaq coach, Stephen Gerrard once referred to the keeper as the best in the world in 2018. Therefore, it stands to reason he would be desperate to bring him into the club given the opportunity.

The former Liverpool player’s exact words were, “well I think the biggest compliment I can pay him is I hate him. So do all Liverpool fans”. The manager then went on to claim that the keeper makes difficult shots look easy”.

While it is unlikely that Al-Ettifaq will be the Spaniard’s next destination, it is fascinating that a player of his fame, calibre and age profile of only 33 years old remains on the free agency market. Clearly, he is waiting for the right move in his eyes, but if he wants to continue his footballing career, he cannot wait forever.