David De Gea has officially become a free agent after his contract with Manchester United expired on July 1st. Perhaps, the Spanish star himself couldn't foresee this scenario, as he and Man Utd had actually reached a mutual agreement on a new contract.
For a while, Man Utd had been negotiating a contract extension with De Gea, and after the former Atletico Madrid star accepted a pay cut, both parties were ready to sign a new deal. However, English media reports confirmed that the Red Devils unexpectedly withdrew the contract extension offer at the last minute, putting De Gea at risk of leaving Old Trafford after many years of association.
Overall, according to various sources, there are two main reasons leading to Man Utd's shocking decision. Firstly, De Gea's salary, despite being willing to take a reduction of over £100,000 per week, the Old Trafford club still considered his wages to be excessively high. Additionally, coach Erik Ten Hag is likely also involved in this matter.
Specifically, Ten Hag is believed to have certain concerns about De Gea's ball-playing abilities, as he wants his number one goalkeeper to have good passing skills to facilitate Man Utd's build-up play from the back. Hence, the coach has contemplated "phasing out" De Gea and replacing him with a higher-quality goalkeeper like Andre Onana or Justin Bijlow.
Given Ten Hag's decisive action, it's likely that Aaron Wan-Bissaka is also concerned about his future at Old Trafford. There's no denying that the former Crystal Palace star made significant progress in the latter stages of the previous season, but Ten Hag's preferred wing-back profile is a player who excels in supporting the attack. However, this happens to be Wan-Bissaka's weakness.
Last season, data from Transfermarkt shows that Wan-Bissaka made a total of 34 appearances across all competitions, but his contributions to Man Utd only amounted to 1 assist. It's evident that Wan-Bissaka often lacks ideas when moving into the opposing team's final third, mostly just passing the ball to teammates or delivering inaccurate crosses.
Recently, Man Utd has been focusing on key targets in midfield, attack, and a quality goalkeeper, but let's not forget that they also have plans to strengthen the right-back position. Journalist Fabrizio Romano confirmed that the Red Devils have made contact to sign Jeremie Frimpong, a talent under the Bayer Leverkusen's squad, even before the summer transfer window opens.
Given the situation, it's clear that Wan-Bissaka could very well share the same fate as De Gea. In the upcoming period, he will undoubtedly have to give his all to impress Ten Hag during the pre-season stage
