Manchester United‘s goalkeeper crisis, following David de Gea’s contract, issue drags on.
While we don’t have clarity yet as to where de Gea will be leaving for, it is quite certain that both parties – Manchester United and de Gea, want him to move away from the club.
Now, it has emerged that Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak, who has for some time been linked with a move to Old Trafford, is reportedly keen to make the move, after “broken promises” about his future with Atletico, as per ESPN.
Oblak was reportedly a childhood Manchester United fan. The departures of Diego Godin, Lucas Hernandez, Juanfran, and Filipe Luis, and the rumoured departure of Antoine Griezmann has left him unhappy about how the Spanish club can compete with its rivals.
While Paris Saint-Germain are also interested in signing Slovenian ‘keeper, he seems to prefer to move to the Red Devils.
Jan Oblak – Profile
Oblak played 37 of the 38 games in La Liga in the 2018-19 season and was the league’s best goalkeeper, ending the season with 20 clean sheets – 4 more than the second on the list, Barcelona’s Marc-André ter Stegen.
Atletico signed Oblak from Benfica for €16 million in 2014, and he has gone on to become one of their most important players.
The 6’2″ keeper signed a new contract earlier this year which will expire in 2023 and he is rumoured to have a release clause of €120 million.
Should Manchester United go for Oblak?
Manchester United need to make several changes to their squad before the start of the 2019-20 season, and one area that they should certainly strengthen, if David de Gea leaves, is the goalkeeping position.
Oblak is often spoken of in the same sentence as some of the best goalkeepers in the world currently, and would be a fantastic signing.
At €120 million, however, he seems to be way over the market price and the Red Devils should think twice before placing such a mammoth bid for the goalkeeper.
Manchester United have to buy world-class first-team players in other areas of the pitch, especially at right-back, centre-back, and central midfield, and a huge bid for Oblak would eat into the transfer kitty substantially.
Solskjaer should pursue a cheaper goalkeeping option and spend money wisely to strengthen other areas of the pitch as well.