David De Gea to Real Madrid: Betting suspended on Manchester United goalkeeper to leave this summer as Florentino Perez eyes transfer

Real Madrid believed to be supremely confident of landing De Gea for more than £25m this summer

David De Gea looks to be close to a move to Real Madrid (Getty Images)

Bookmakers' gave Manchester United fans a fright when the majority of them suspended the market for David De Gea to join Real Madrid before the end of the summer transfer window.

De Gea has been heavily linked with a return to Spain having left Atletico Madrid for United in 2011. Real have made no secret of their interest in the goalkeeper, who recovered from a shaky start at Old Trafford to grow into arguably the most talented shot-stopper in the Premier League, and the club are believed to be supremely confident of landing the 24-year-old this summer.

All major bookmakers’ suspended bets on De Gea with the exception of Sky Bet, though a glance at their odds suggest he’s heading to Real with just a 6/1 chance given of him staying at United.

According to the Daily Mail, Real president Florentino Perez is adamant that the club will get their man this summer – as they have done in every year gone by in recent times – although the club do accept that they’ll likely have to break the £25m barrier in order to speak to the Spain international.

There’s also a sense of inevitability at United with a number of the club’s playing squad and staff believing that they won’t play alongside De Gea again.

The goalkeeper appeared to fuel speculation earlier this week when he spoke to Spanish press about his future, when he refused to dismiss the prospect of leaving as he answered: “We will see what happens.”

Like Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, Real usually get their way when they set their sights on a top transfer target in the summer, and it appears that United face an uphill challenge to convince De Gea to stay for at least one more year should Real come in with a formal offer.

The belief is that De Gea feels he stands a better chance of winning the Champions League with Real than he does with United. Given that Real have won four Champions Leagues compared to United’s two over the last 20 years, he may have a point, but United will at least be back in the mix after finishing fourth in the Premier League this season.