Manchester United are reportedly ready to trigger Jan Oblak’s release clause at Atletico Madrid.
David De Gea is heading into the final 12 months of his contract at Old Trafford and United are scouring the market for the 28-year-old goalkeeper’s long-term successor.
Many have speculated that De Gea’s mind could be elsewhere following a number of uncharacteristic mistakes which have cost United in recent weeks both domestically and in Europe.
Metro.co.uk understands that Oblak, 26, is United’s ‘ideal replacement’ for De Gea with talks over extending the Spaniard’s deal at an impasse.
According to ESPN FC, United are now ‘seriously considering’ a move to trigger Oblak’s €120million (£104m) buy-out clause in an attempt to prise the Slovenian away from Atletico Madrid.
Oblak signed a new contract with Atleti back in April but the club were only able to increase his release clause from €100m to €120m.
United would rather sign Oblak with the funds raised from selling De Gea than risk losing the latter on a free transfer at the end of next season.
The Red Devils are likely to demand a fee of around £90m from clubs interested in landing De Gea ahead of the 2019/20 campaign.
Oblak is understood to be open to a move to England as he feels Atletico are still some way from competing with Real Madrid and Barcelona in La Liga.
However, United failing to qualify for next season’s Champions League could be a sticking point in their pursuit of Oblak.
The Slovenia international would only leave Atletico for a top Premier League club competing in Europe’s premier competition.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer defended De Gea after his costly error against Chelsea and insisted that he has ‘no worries’ over the ‘keeper’s poor form.
Asked whether he was concerned by De Gea’s struggles, Solskjaer replied: ‘I don’t really. I know David. You know when you’re a goalkeeper or a striker you’re always in the spotlight, every time you miss a chance, or score you either get a bad or good headline. It’s same with David.
‘He’s been in the spotlight for the right reasons for so long, now he’s going through a period where he probably feels he can do better. No, I don’t have worries because he is a strong character.
‘There’s many different ways of getting back into your best performances, and of course I’ll sit down and speak with David, as I’ve done when he plays well. He’s not the reason we’re in sixth position at the moment.
‘You cannot say there is any complacency, David is not the type, he is competitive and wants to be the best. David knows he could have done better with the goal, there’s no point denying it and there’s no point in pointing fingers.’
The Norwegian added: There’s no chance that anyone can blame him for losing many points for us. He’s been unbelievable.
‘Yes, today he knows he could have had that shot, but that’s football again.’
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