Search icon

Sport

17th Jul 2017

Manchester United linked with impossible swap deal involving David de Gea

This would be a surprise...

Tony Cuddihy

This would be a surprise.

Swap deals rarely happen, and Manchester United don’t want to lose David de Gea. But this would probably appease fans of the club if they were to sell their goalkeeper this summer

According to the Mirror, United manager Jose Mourinho has demanded Toni Kroos in exchange for De Gea should Real Madrid keep going back in for the United goalkeeper.

The German international has become one of the best central midfielders in the world since joining Madrid from Bayern Munich in 2014, and Mourinho has made no secret of his admiration for the 27-year-old.

Rumours linking De Gea with a return to Madrid – where he started his career with Atletico – have been commonplace since a move to the Bernabeu failed in the final hours of the 2015 summer transfer window due to an administrative error.

The fee agreed between the two clubs at that time was £29m but the 26-year-old ‘keeper would now cost at least double that amount, barring any unlikely swap involving Kroos.

The Mirror reports that Mourinho sees Kroos as the ideal midfield partner for Paul Pogba, who re-joined United in a world record deal from Juventus last year.

Paul Scholes also said earlier this year that he regards Kroos as the ideal long-term replacement for captain Michael Carrick, saying the German would be “perfect at United next to Pogba and Ander Herrera.”

There’s no doubt Kroos would be a great signing for United, but Madrid are unlikely to be willing to let him go, even for De Gea in return.