Man Utd 'Pleading' David De Gea To Return After Andre Onana's Latest Mov Leaves Them In Trouble

Manchester United are reportedly "pleading" for David de Gea to return, in an embarrassing U-turn after dumping their longest-serving goalkeeper in the summer.

Manchester United offloaded De Gea and also sold backup keeper Dean Henderson to Crystal Palace on a permanent deal. The Old Trafford side then signed Cameroon international Andre Onana for £48 million from Inter Milan as De Gea's replacement.

The Red Devils are now worried they will be short of goalkeepers in January when Onana leaves for the Africa Cup of Nations and are preparing to bring back De Gea, currently a free agent, according to The Sun.

When Manchester United signed Onana ahead of the 2023-24 season, the Cameroon goalkeeper had already called it quits on the international level, following a fallout with his national side's head coach during the FIFA World Cup in Qatar last year.

However, last month Onana stunned Manchester United when he announced he was coming out of international retirement to re-join the Cameroon squad ahead of their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.

The AFCON is set to be played from Jan. 13 to Feb. 11, meaning Onana could miss up to eight matches for Manchester United. As a result, the Red Devils have turned to De Gea, with whom they had parted ways in a controversial manner.

Manchester United will have Tom Heaton and Altay Bayindir, who they signed from Turkish club Fenerbahce for £4.3 million in the summer, as their only other goalkeepers during the AFCON days. Bayindir, 25, is yet to make his first appearance in the red shirt.

De Gea, who spent 12 years in Manchester, has not played for another club since his Old Trafford exit. The Spaniard went out of contract in the summer. As a part of a new contract, Manchester United offered De Gea reduced terms to stay, with his wages being slashed from £375,000 a week to £200,000 a week.

The club then withdrew the proposed deal in the end and astonishingly asked the player to agree to join another club until they had completed Onana's transfer. It was regarded as poor treatment for someone who had made 545 appearances for the club, breaking their all-time clean sheets record, and had just won the Premier League's Golden Glove award.

Onana, who came in at Manchester United with the task of filling in the big shoes of De Gea, has not had the best start. The African goalkeeper has made a number of costly errors that have cost the team several matches before repairing his reputation slightly with a crucial stoppage-time penalty save in Manchester United's 1-0 win over Copenhagen in the Champions League.

Manchester United would want Onana to repeat his heroics on Sunday when they host derby rivals Manchester City in the Premier League. The Red Devils are currently far behind in eighth place with four losses in nine games.