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What's the rumour?
Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea is seeking a move to Real Madrid for the second time in his career, according to a report in Spanish news outlet El Confidencial.
After missing out on signing for Los Blancos in the summer transfer window in 2015, the Spanish goalkeeper wants to ensure that this time the move goes ahead.
According to the report, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is ready to axe certain members of the squad after an underwhelming season where the club now find themselves 19 points behind Barcelona in La Liga and out of the Copa del Rey.
In case you didn't know...
After the 2017/18 season is done and dusted, De Gea will be in the final year of his contract at the Old Trafford club. The 27-year-old's contract ends in June 2019.
United have been trying to extend his contract for quite some time but De Gea has stalled on signing an extension even though he still claims he is happy to play for the Red Devils.
"I don't think it's the time to start talking about the future, it's not the time to be talking contracts." - De Gea in January 2018
The heart of the matter
With Zinedine Zidane also under pressure at the club following a string of disappointing results, he will look to strengthen not only the attack but also the defence. De Gea is arguably one of the best goalkeepers in the world at the moment and has had a better season compared to Navas.
The Spaniard has kept 14 clean sheets in the Premier League compared to just four for Navas in La Liga. De Gea has also made 70 saves compared to Navas' 36 (4.38 saves per goal compared to 2.77 per goal).
Rumour rating/probability
7/10
This deal has a good chance of going through if Real Madrid manage to convince United to sell him. De Gea has wanted to move since 2015 and convincing a player to sign an extension in the final year of his contract will get increasingly difficult.
Jose Mourinho will not want to let go of the club's player of the year for three consecutive seasons (2013/14, 2014/15, and 2015/16) either. But if a good offer does come in for a player who could be unsettled in the summer, he may not have a choice and the board could take the final call.
Video: De Gea's best saves this season
Author's take
The current record transfer fee for a goalkeeper is the £34.7m Manchester City paid for Ederson - a fee that beat the longstanding record held by Juventus when they signed Gianluigi Buffon for £32.6m in 2001.
It is clear that De Gea will easily command a much higher fee if he is indeed sold by United. If Real Madrid do decide that Navas has run his course in this side, they could pursue long-time target De Gea this summer.
The Spanish no.1 will also want to seal a move quickly before they turn their attention to the younger Thibaut Courtois if United play hardball. If Courtois is a primary target, De Gea - who is currently playing at his peak - may never get another chance to move to the Bernabeu again.
