Manchester United will demand £35m from Real Madrid to sign David de Gea this summer

Manchester United are reportedly set to demand £35m ($54.2m) for David De Gea, with Real Madrid interested in a summer move for the stopper, according to the Daily Mail.

The report claims that the Spanish capital club are set to make a £25m ($38.7m) offer for the former Atletico Madrid goalkeeper, but will be outrightly rejected by the Red Devils, as Louis van Gaal is keen that interested clubs meet their valuation.

"Manchester United has to pay. We have to pay for all the players a certain amount and what Real Madrid has offered," Van Gaal said, as quoted by the Manchester Evening News.

"When you say something you have to know something, but you don't know and then you say in a suggestive way we have to be proactive. You cannot be proactive. We are asking for money and they have to pay money, it's always like that," the Dutchman added.

The report claims that Real's director general Jose Angel Sanchez is in talks with the keeper's agent Jorge Mendes to work out a deal, and staff have reportedly been told to be prepared to have De Gea at the Santiago Bernabeu before the start of the La Liga season in two weeks time.

However, despite dropping the Spanish international for their opening Premier League game against Tottenham Hotspur, the Red Devils boss has left the door open for De Gea, who has one year left on his current contract, to remain at the club for a further year.

Summer arrival Sergio Romero started between the sticks on Saturday 8 August and Van Gaal was impressed with the Argentine international's quality despite the stopper only training with the squad for just two days.

Sam Johnstone was ever present during the 20-times English champions' pre-season tour of the United States, and was expected to be given the nod ahead of the former Sampdoria stopper, but the manager indicated that he preferred experience over familiarity for the clash against Spurs.

"Romero kept the zero. He made some wonderful saves and saved us twice so that's good but we have to improve his building up," the former Bayern Munich manager said, as quoted by the Daily Mail.

"That's logical because he trained only two days with his fellow players. We decided with the staff on Wednesday and with David on Thursday that he could not play this game.

"Sam Johnstone has played a lot in the preparation but I gave the experience of Romero the benefit of the doubt," he explained.

"It was not amazing, it was logical that his building up wasn't so good. But the most important thing was that he stops the ball and he did that," Van Gaal added.