Man Utd send scouts to watch "De Gea's replacement"
Karan Tejwani
- 2 Oct 2022 10:35 BST
- 3 min read
Manchester United are looking for a long-term solution to their goalkeeping situation, with David de Gea seemingly not the ideal fit and the Spaniard entering the final months of his contract at the club.
De Gea has had a tough start to the season, with mistakes against Brighton and Brentford at the start of the campaign costing his side important points.
His lack of ball-playing skills have also been a cause for concern and has led to Spanish national team coach Luis Enrique to drop him, with Unai Simon, David Raya and Robert Sanchez preferred over him.
As a result, Manchester United are looking for a solution and are identifying possible targets, with scouts sent out to watch Porto’s Diogo Costa, who has impressed in Portugal as of late.
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Man Utd eyeing Porto goalkeeper
According to A Bola, Manchester United scouts were present at Porto’s match against Braga on Friday evening, which was won by the hosts 4-1.
The 23-year-old goalkeeper was one of two players they were keeping an eye on, with David Carmo being the other player, as they set their sights on two players from the club.
According to sources, Costa possesses the qualities that Erik ten Hag demands from a goalkeeper in his team: his ability to play with his feet, command his area and maintain a high press is valued highly.
Over the last two seasons, Costa has also proven to be a fine shot-stopper, and his ability to prevent shots by sweeping forward and help in the build-up of his team’s offence is also admired.
Here we can see his in-game actions (claiming, passes, clearances...) and note that while he's involved outside the box, he's also involved laterally covering all of the space in his box. pic.twitter.com/IOcfM00fZk
— Adam Laird (@adzlaird) September 29, 2022
That has led to Costa being called up for the Portuguese national team, and he has seven caps, with the possibility of playing at the World Cup for his country later this year in Qatar.
It can be seen through data that De Gea often tends to stay within his six-yard box, while the league’s other top goalkeepers, and those across Europe, tend to get around their box more often, something Ten Hag desires.
Costa won’t come in cheap: he is only getting better and Porto were able to price Newcastle United out of a move last season, which means Manchester United may have to spend big to fix a priority position.
