5 possible replacements for David de Gea if he joins Real Madrid

De Gea is rumoured to be on his way to Real Madrid

David de Gea has evolved into Manchester United’s superstar after enduring a difficult start to his career in England. The Spanish shot-stopper is the Red Devils’ most prized possession and has been their most consistent as well as most important member of the squad in recent times.

His contributions haven’t gone unnoticed though as he has been named Manchester United’s Player of the Year two times in a row and was also nominated for the PFA Player of the Year award, only to lose out to Eden Hazard.

The former Atletico Madrid player is sure to be the future custodian for Spain and is easily one of the best keepers in the world on current form. His endeavours have attracted the interest of European giants Real Madrid and Los Blancos are rumoured to be making a move for the 24-year-old to replace or provide an upgrade over their current goalkeepers.

If Manchester United do lose De Gea to Real Madrid, then it will be a big blow for them and they should make an informed and wise decision in replacing him. So here are five players Manchester United should look at to replace De Gea if he moves to Real Madrid.

NOTE: This article only focuses on players who can be bought to replace David de Gea and so Victor Valdes has not been considered.

Hugo Lloris

For Tottenham Hotspur, Hugo Lloris has been as important as Harry Kane throughout the season, but the Frenchman doesn’t get the same level of appreciation as the English forward does because he is a goalkeeper, along with the fact that he isn’t English.

Tottenham’s defensive record and number of clean sheets kept don’t do justice to Lloris’ performances in any manner, but if you look at the number of saves Lloris has to make per game, it is far more superior than almost all top goalkeepers.

Lloris is a keeper on par with the best in the game, but unlike the others, the French Captain doesn’t play for a Champions League club and won’t play in the elite competition for another year if he remains at Spurs. Aged 28, Lloris has not won many honours and will be keen to move to a club where he has a better chance of winning major trophies and for this reason he will be open to a move to Manchester United.

From United’s perspective, Lloris is a top notch keeper with experience in the league and can easily walk into the first team and replace De Gea.

Bernd Leno

Leno has proved himself to be a brilliant goalkeeper

Germany is home to many quality goalkeepers and Bernd Leno is yet another class act to have emerged from the country. The Bayer Leverkusen shot stopper is just 23 years old and is an ever improving player who will soon compete with the likes of Marc-Andre ter Stegen for the right to succeed Manuel Neuer in a few years time.

Leno joined Leverkusen on loan in 2011 as the club were struggling with injuries to German International Rene Adler. During Adler’s absence, Leno established himself as a regular starter for the club and kept three clean sheets in his first three matches. He later became the youngest ever goalkeeper to play in the UEFA Champions League.

He continued to be Leverkusen’s first choice keeper even after Alder returned from injury and eventually his performances forced Adler out of the club and that speaks volumes about the ability of Leno, as Adler was also a top keeper.

The German could be tempted to move to a club like Manchester United easily and buying Leno will be beneficial for United as he is a year younger than De Gea and could go on to become their long-term solution in goal if the Spaniard chooses to leave.

Jan Oblak

Oblak has become an integral part of Atletico Madrid’s team

It is well known that Atletico Madrid has always been home to many prolific goalkeepers in recent years and the side from the Spanish Capital now have another young, rising goalkeeper in their ranks.

Jan Oblak has successfully replaced Thibaut Courtois as Atletico Madrid’s keeper and has already shown signs of reaching the same level of personal success. He could also possibly be following De Gea and Courtois to the Premier League and has what it takes to replace De Gea at Manchester United. He is just 22 years of age, and, therefore, moving for him too would be a potential long-term decision.

The Slovenian made his mark with Benfica during the 2013/14 season when he became the Portuguese club’s first choice keeper midway through the season. He kept several clean sheets in his first few starts, of which the notable ones were against Porto in the league and against Juventus in the Europa League.

At the end of the season, he won the Best Goal Keeper of the Year award in Portugal after only conceding 3 goals in 13 games.

Petr Cech

If Manchester United want to buy a goalkeeper who is as good as De Gea or even better without considering the long term advantages, then they don’t need to look further than Petr Cech.

Cech was part of the PFA Team of the Year for the 2013/14 season but was benched by Mourinho in favour of Courtois for the 2014/15 season. He wasn’t dropped because he was no longer on top of his game, but because the manager could not afford to lose a goalkeeper as young and talented as Courtois. True to his reputation, Cech has put in brilliant performances every time he played this season.

The 33-year-old has at least a couple of good seasons left in him and has already made it clear that he doesn’t wish to play a backup role next season. Under these circumstances, it is looking more and more likely that the Czech international will leave the club in the summer.

There is no doubt that Cech will be a great addition to Manchester United, but it remains to be seen if Jose Mourinho and Chelsea wish to sell a player of Cech’s abilities to a direct rival.

Jasper Cillessen

Cillessen has previously worked with Van Gaal for the Netherlands

Since Louis van Gaal took over at Manchester United, many Dutch internationals have been linked with a move to the club and two players, namely Daley Blind and Memphis Depay have already joined the club.

The latest Dutch International to be linked with the Manchester United is Ajax’s goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen and the rumours surfaced as soon as talks of De Gea’s potential move to Real Madrid gathered momentum.

Cillessen took some time to breakthrough into Ajax’s first team and it was only in 2013, aged 24 that he became the Dutch club’s first choice keeper. Even though he was a late bloomer, he has taken massive strides from there on.

He was the Netherlands’ first choice custodian at the 2014 FIFA World Cup ahead of the likes of Tim Krul and Michel Vorm, and this indicates the faith Van Gaal has in Cillessen. The Ajax man repaid his manager’s faith in full with some brilliant performances for his country at Brazil.

If De Gea leaves for Real Madrid, then Van Gaal won’t have any trouble in luring his compatriot to England and their familiarity working with each other could prove to be helpful in making this a successful move.