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Juventus are ready to open contract talks with David de Gea in January, if Manchester United have not managed to persuade the Spaniard to sign a new deal by them.
The 28-year old is out of contract next summer, which means that he is free to talk to representatives of foreign clubs in the New Year. Negotiations about a new deal with United have been rumbling on for almost two years. Earlier this summer it was falsely reported that he had agreed a new deal to stay at Old Trafford worth £350,000, but it still remains unsigned.
Juventus have long adopted the transfer strategy of picking up players on free transfers when their contracts have run down, the same tactic they used to acquire Aaron Ramsey from Arsenal. Now it looks like de Gea could be the latest Premier League player headed to Turin.
United are reportedly resigned to losing de Gea, and have already begun scouting his replacement, with Jan Oblak of Atlético Madrid high on their wanted list.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.