Manchester United star David De Gea: We'll see what happens about Real Madrid

The 24-year-old is out of contract next summer and reportedly remains high on Los Blancos’ transfer agenda, despite the departure of Carlo Ancelotti as coach.

He was presented with an opportunity to break his silence at a ceremony in his home province of Toledo, and only managed to stoke speculation further with his coy statement.

“We’ll see what happens with my future,” the newly-adopted son of La Mancha said. “I’m on holiday at the moment and very happy with this recognition.”

While De Gea was not drawn, his refusal to deny that he is thinking about ending his spell at United is unusual since it's a well-established norm that footballers generally refuse to admit that they are considering leaving until they are ready to burn their bridges.

With both Real and United ready to make him he best-paid goalkeeper in the world, and both likely to offer him years of potential silverware, the decision seems set to come down to intangible factors.

And United goalkeeping coach Frans Hoek - who has worked with Louis van Gaal at Ajax and Barcelona as well as with the Dutch national team - made a bold statement, claiming that De Gea can become "as good as Peter Schmeichel" if he stays at Old Trafford.

"He is now at one of the biggest clubs in the world," said Hoek. "The moment you are playing at a high level there, you’re great and if you continue to do that, then automatically you become one of the better ones in the world.

"He showed at a very young age – he became 24 this season – that he is able to do the job in all elements of the game, in construction, but also in defence.

"So nothing stands on his way to become one of the best like Schmeichel, like [Edwin] Van der Sar at United."

It seems clear now that De Gea's choice will come down to a question of whether Spain or England will tug harder on his heartstrings - and the signs look very bad for United.

The very fact that he decided to talk to his family back in Spain about his future speaks volumes about the roots he still has in his homeland, while his decision to attend events such as this one in Toledo show that he clearly craves attention and recognition in Spain. At a time when he could be on a private island in the Maldives, he is instead doing the rounds back home. It seems pretty clear where his heart is.

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