Victor Valdes is the perfect replacement for David De Gea

David De Gea’s performances over the past to seasons have transformed him into the most sought-after goalkeeper in Europe. De Gea, 24, has one year remaining on his contract at Old Trafford and has been linked with a move to Real Madrid. In May, Van Gaal said De Gea had a difficult decision ahead of him whether to return to his homeland or sign a new deal at Manchester United.

Van Gaal has previously stated that Manchester United have offered him ‘a lot of money’ to stay, rumoured to be £200,000 a week. De Gea came through the academy at Atletico Madrid, where he won the Europa League, before joining Manchester United. It is thought Real Madrid aren’t offering as much money as Manchester United, but there are other factors which will contribute to De Gea’s decision. His family and his girlfriend live in Madrid.

As much as United fans want De Gea to stay, they can understand the appeal to move back to his homeland and be with his family. United do however, have a ready-made replacement in Victor Valdes. Manchester United allowed Valdes to train with the club as he recovered from a serious knee injury before signing him on a free transfer in January. Since then he has acted as back-up to De Gea, making two appearances.

In 2013, Valdes announced he would leave Barcelona at the end of his contract, but his Barca career came to an abrupt end when he suffered a serious knee injury causing him to miss the World Cup. Barcelona wanted to keep Valdes but he rejected their offer of a new contract.

Valdes played the final two games of the season. He was brought on as a substitution for De Gea against Arsenal and he made his full debut against Hull, where he produced several top quality saves. These were his first games in over a year, since he suffered a serious knee injury in March 2014.

The decision to sign Valdes back in January, looks like a brilliant decision by Louis Van Gaal, who Valdes once described as ‘the most important person’ of his career. Valdes was given his Barcelona debut by current United manager Louis van Gaal in 2002, the Spaniard enjoyed a trophy-filled 12 years at the Nou Camp, winning the Champions League three times and six La Liga titles.

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Valdes is a strong goalkeeper who can command his six-yard box. Barcelona played a lot away from their goal and Valdes was an important component of that, many goals for Barcelona started from Valdes. Manchester United want a keeper who suits their style of play, whether is it a keeper with great reaction saves like De Gea or a keeper who can start an attack.

Valdes is only 33, a year younger than Van Der Sar was when Manchester United bought him from Fulham in 2005. Van Der Sar went on to play for six years at United, winning four Premier League titles, the Club World Cup and the Champions League trophy.

United have been linked with several goalkeepers this summer, including Hugo Lloris and Jan Oblak, but with the experience and talent of Valdes, he can become United’s number one if De Gea decides to leave.