Goalkeepers David De Gea (L) of Manchester United and Keylor Navas of Real Madrid. (Photo : Reuters)
Manchester United ended this summer's transfer window on a low note with the confusion that surrounded David De Gea's supposed move to Real Madrid. Even though it was not entirely the Red Devils' fault, it did not help the reputation of one of the richest English clubs in history.
However, a recent report from the Daily Star revealed that the "real reason" why the De Gea deal did not push through was Real Madrid's goalie, Keylor Navas.
It was reported that the 28-year-old Costa Rica international was actually included in the De Gea deal, which is a switch between the two goalies plus a fee of £29 million from Los Merengues.
However, the arrangement suddenly turned sour when Los Blancos president Florentino Pérez learned that a recent fan survey indicated that they want Navas to stay at the Bernabéu, prompting Real to try and restructure the deal at the last minute.
In the end, it was called off and maybe will be re-opened again in the future.
It was also said that Navas even called Man United exec Ed Woodward to help him move to Old Trafford, but the deal was already scrapped.
Meanwhile, Caught Offside indicated that van Gaal is still confident that De Gea will return to his old form and will start for his squad again soonest.
The 24-year-old Spain international was actually van Gaal's best player in the past two years, but a misunderstanding during the last International Champions Cup friendlies made the coach relegate him back to the bench behind Sergio Romero.
Van Gaal said that the reason he benched his prized goalkeeper is because he had not been focusing on the field lately. Of course, the 6-foot-4 Madrid native denied the accusations.
