Opinion – Man United should sign £88.4m man to replace star

Jan Oblak Atletico Madrid save

Manchester United have got arguably the best goal keeper in the world in the form of Spanish international David De Gea, who won the Premier League title in 2013 under Alex Ferguson.

However, since the retirement of the legendary manager, the Red Devils have not managed to win the Premier League title again.

Over the years, De Gea has proved to be world-class and he is the only player, who has won Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award on four occasions. It must be noted that he has won the award in four of the last five seasons.

Last season, he won the Golden Glove award by keeping 18 clean sheets in the PL. However, in the current campaign, United have been average under Mourinho and De Gea has been inconsistent as well. So far, in 13 league appearances, the La Roja goalie has already let in 21 goals and kept only 2 clean sheets. He was poor for Spain at the World Cup.

According to reports going on in the media (The Telegraph), the Spanish shot stopper, whose current contract will expire next summer, is in no rush to sign a new deal with the club. It will not be shocking if the former Atletico Madrid star opts to leave Old Trafford and the recent reports (The Mail) suggest that he is poised to join French champions Paris Saint-Germain.

If he departs, then the British giants must splash the cash to sign someone, who has what it takes to replace the 28-year-old star and in my opinion, United should sign Jan Oblak. There are not many goalies, who are good enough to replace De Gea but the Slovenian international is surely one of the few.

The 25-year-old star is at the peak of his game and his stats for Atletico Madrid are mind-blowing.

  • La Liga: 129 appearances – 74 clean sheets
  • Champions League: 39 appearances – 21 clean sheets

Oblak is protected by a rock solid defensive setup but whenever called upon, he has delivered and that kind of concentration is a massive quality at big sides where the goalies are not tested a lot. He is a brilliant shot stopper and he makes hard saves look easy with strong command of his penalty area and fantastic positioning.

The former Benfica player is without doubt the most consistent goal keeper in the world at the moment. He has deservedly won the La Liga’s GK of the Year award in the past three seasons and it will not come as any surprise if he wins the prize this season as well.

In the current campaign, so far, in 13 league outings, Oblak has only conceded 9 goals and kept 6 clean sheets. His current contract with the Rojiblancos will expire in 2021 and it has a release clause of £88.4m (Mirror Sport), which United must activate to secure his signing.