De Gea, Henderson, Martinez, Pickford & Oblak - the men who could be Man Utd’s No.1 next season

David de Gea’s time as Manchester United’s No.1 could be drawing to a close, according to reports.

The goalkeeper moved to Old Trafford in 2011 and has been first choice between the sticks for the majority of that period.

De Gea has played 495 times for United and will most likely enter the club’s top-10 list of appearances by the end of the season.

But there have been no shortage of rumours recently surrounding his long-term future and who could replace him as Erik ten Hag’s preferred keeper.

What’s been reported?

According to the Telegraph, United are ‘weighing up’ whether to exercise the option of extending De Gea’s contract by another year.

The outlet add the club are ‘assessing their long-term plan’ with Jordan Pickford among the names being discussed as a potential replacement for the Spaniard.

De Gea’s contract will expire in the summer if it isn’t extended, with United said to be weighing up whether to move on one of their highest earners even if it means him leaving for free.

As for Pickford, he will only have a year left on his contract at Everton by the summer and could be a relatively cheap alternative to De Gea.

He’s not the only Premier League stopper who is being linked with a switch to Old Trafford, so too is Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez.

United are ‘keeping close tabs’ on the Argentine, report Football Insider, with Villa valuing him at around £45m.

Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid are also interested in Martinez, according to The Mirror, who claim United are ‘monitoring the situation’ of current Atleti stopper Jan Oblak. He may even be available in January with his contract set to expire in the summer.

De Gea on the move?

Should United opt for a change in goalkeepers, De Gea’s next destination may be Turin, with Juventus said to be interested in the experienced stopper.

Calciomercato report the Italian club could try and sign United’s No.1 for free this summer, with Wojciech Szczesny’s deal at Juve set to expire at the end of the season.

This comes after the Old Lady posted record-breaking losses last week, while they’ve had a difficult start to 2022/23 and are already seven points behind leaders Napoli.

United’s other keepers

De Gea, of course, isn’t United’s only keeper, with Martin Dubravka arriving on loan from Newcastle United on deadline day.

He’s second choice behind De Gea at present, while Tom Heaton is another alternative. Matej Kovar, Nathan Bishop and Radek Vitek are younger goalkeepers who are currently on the books at Old Trafford but unlikely to compete for a starting spot.

Another option for United is Dean Henderson, who is on loan at Nottingham Forest, but currently set to return to the Red Devils in the summer.

The England international ousted De Gea as first choice in the latter stages of 2020/21 but lost his place just over a year ago after missing the start of the season due to suffering adversely from the long-term effects of Covid-19.

Henderson has had a good start to life at the City Ground and is a highly regarded goalkeeper.

However, his critical comments about United in the summer will not have gone down well. “To sit there and waste 12 months is criminal, really, at my age. I was fuming,” he told talkSPORT in an interview last month.

Should Ten Hag opt to stick with Henderson, it would offer a cheaper and younger option than any of the aforementioned keepers.