For months, David De Gea's future with Manchester United has been called into question and it seems that after his mistake this weekend against Tottenham, Sir Alex Ferguson is ready to move on and replace the keeper.
According to numerous reports, Ferguson is looking to replace De Gea with Real Madrid keeper Iker Casillas. Casillas' problems with Madrid coach Jose Mourinho have been well documented and according to UK publication Metro, "Ferguson may see the Madrid superstar as the answer to his quest for a reliable figure between the sticks."
De Gea has been heavily criticized during his tenure with Manchester United for his poor play in the air. In the Tottenham match, he weakly punched a cross away. The ball went straight to an opposing attacker who passed the ball in and found an open Clint Dempsey. Dempsey fired the ball past De Gea into the net to tie the match in the waning seconds.
De Gea is the most expensive keeper in the premier league and according to The Independent, "senior players at the club are understood to have lost faith in the 22-year-old." The publication also notes that De Gea's idiosyncratic technique of stopping the ball with his legs instead of smothering it has caused communication problems with his defense.
United has started to look into the possibility of bringing the unhappy Casillas in exchange for De Gea. The Independent states that De Gea's girlfriend Edurne Garcia Almagro continues to live in Madrid and that could be an ideal landing spot for the youngster. Meanwhile Casillas gives Manchester a strong veteran presence that the team has lacked for years.
Casillas' status as the number one keeper for Madrid has been called into question after the superstar was benched a few weeks ago by Jose Mourinho. Casillas has started the last few matches for Madrid, but his benching exposed his growing conflicts with Mourinho.