It's fair to say that, other than perhaps Paul Pogba, David De Gea is the single most important player at Old Trafford. There was a spell a few years ago in which the Spaniard was arguably the one player preventing the Red Devils from dropping far down the table.

He's consistently been one of Europe's best goalkeepers, and for Man Utd, he's indispensable at present.

The Spaniard's contractual situation, then, is a real concern for the club. His contract looks set to remain in place until the end of next season, but according to the Telegraph, anything beyond that is uncertain - with De Gea not yet convinced by the project at Old Trafford.

ESPN have since reported that the club are apparently relaxed about the situation, but it's hard to see why. The Red Devils' brass must recognise what they've got in De Gea, and they need to see that it would be a disaster if he were to leave.

After all, they don't come much better than De Gea. He's undoubtedly one of if not the single best shot-stopper in Europe, with the Spaniard often able to pull off unstoppable saves when players are 1-on-1 with him.

He had a tough time during his early days at Man Utd, but he quickly developed and turned into the player that he is today, and he's only grown in confidence and quality over the years.

Between the aforementioned shot-stopping and the aerial dominance, technical ability and consistency that he shows every single week, it's fair to say that whoever was brought in to replace De Gea would be a downgrade if he were to leave.

Chelsea were in a similar situation with Thibaut Courtois over the summer, and the Belgian ended up leaving for Real Madrid. Man Utd simply cannot afford to endure a similar situation. Losing him on a free next season would be awful, given his likely huge transfer value, and so this is a lose/lose situation for the club at present - unless they can convince him to extend.

Man Utd fans - thoughts?

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