Keylor Navas and De Gea: another potential glove triangle
Real Madrid's Costa Rican goalkeeper is expected to move on this summer and if David de Gea was to leave for PSG, a hole will be required to be filled at United.
In a certain way, Keylor Navas (32 years old) and David De Gea (28) have stepped back in time to 2015. That summer their paths crossed in one of the most memorable non-operations in football. As we enter the 2019 transfer period, a similar situation is in front of us, and over the coming weeks we will see whether it comes to fruition this time around.
De Gea to PSG, Keylor to United
Four years ago, rumours were rife throughout the transfer window that the Spanish goalkeeper would clinch his move to LaLiga giants Real Madrid from Manchester United. The deal was done. The Costa Rican was aboard a plane, waiting for confirmation that he would be be moving in the opposite direction to take over at Old Trafford. Everything seemed to be clear, except the papers from United didn't appear with LaLiga's administrators until 00:28 on the first day of September. The deadline had passed. The deal was dead.
This time around, the potential movement is not a passing in the sky swap deal. Instead there would be three of Europe's heavyweight's involved: Paris Saint-Germain being the other. Agent Jorge Mendes has reportedly been working on making this three-way move happen. Although not officially Keylor's agent (but he is De Gea's), Madrid's triple Champions League winner turned to Mendes to find him a satisfactory new club. PSG are looking to strengthen as they target European glory once again. If that can include the Spanish keeper taking over between the sticks then Navas would be perfectly placed to step into the rebuilding job being done at United.
AS have learned that the Premier League, and in particular The Red Devils, is seen as an attractive proposition for the Costa Rican and those around him. We also heard from Spanish programme El Partidazo on COPE that the player has been studying English for some time now. But, on the other side, there is a decision to be made by De Gea. His contract runs out in 2020, but he has not ruled out continuing in the location that has been his home since leaving Atlético Madrid in 2011. A move back to the Spanish capital looks unlikely - not because of malfunctioning fax machines - but due to Los Blancos putting their faith in an another rojiblanco, Thibaut Courtois. We will watch with interest to see if this glove triangle works out for all parties concerned.
Casillas adds another angle
Another potential flashback is created with Porto's Iker Casillas. He moved to the Portuguese league after coinciding with Keylor at the Santiago Bernabéu and their careers went their seperate ways. Los Blancos' legend, nicknamed San ('Saint') Iker, recently suffered a heart attack while training and is now not expected to return to first team action, which may unexpectedly open a door to the Porto goal.
This is certainly a story that is making headlines in the country after Keylor's wife posted a message on social media.