David de Gea outlines ambitious future objectives at Man Utd after landmark 500th appearance

David de Gea has outlined his main objectives at Manchester United under Erik ten Hag following his 500th appearance for the club, which came in their 0-0 draw with Newcastle United on Sunday.

The Spaniard became the 11th player to reach the milestone for the Red Devils and is also only the second goalkeeper to do so - the other being Alex Stepney. De Gea joined United from Atletico Madrid in 2011 and has since gone on to win seven trophies with the club, including one Premier League title and the Europa League.

The 31-year-old, whose contract with United expires in the summer, has now been discussing what he wants to achieve in the future with the club, specifically more silverware. “The main job is to try to reach the trophies and fight for them,” he told the Red Devils’ media team.

“I [have] won already some trophies here and it was amazing, the feeling, and for the fans as well. This is what we are trying to do [now]. We’re trying to improve and be a good team and a proper team and then fight for big things.”

United have failed to win any silverware since lifting the Europa League under Jose Mourinho during the 2017/18 season, however, will be hoping the arrival of Ten Hag can bring their wait for success to an end. De Gea believes the club have improved since the appointment of the new manager this summer and indicated his philosophies have brought the team closer together after their poor performance in all competitions last campaign.

“I think we’re playing better,” De Gea said. “We are winning some difficult games, keeping some good clean sheets as well. That’s super important for us and I feel it. The players want it more, we are hungry and that’s a good signal, so let’s keep doing well and keep fighting together.”

The landmark is an impressive one for the Spaniard, who has also kept 170 clean sheets during his Red Devils career, and despite him being just five away from Stepney and 12 from Peter Schmeichel, De Gea remains focused on doing his best for the club and not on individual achievements.

“Like I said before, it’s difficult to reach that many games,” he said. “Clean sheets as well, every year it’s more difficult to keep a clean sheet in the Premier League so yeah I feel very, very proud and probably, like I said already, I’ll realise more when I stop playing football and check and say ‘look at what I did in this club’. But now it’s time to keep doing more: more games, more clean sheets and help the team even more.”