Real Madrid Transfer News: David De Gea Interest Renewed, Kylian Mbappe Rumours

Real Madrid are reportedly preparing a £46 million offer for Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea after struggling to agree a deal to sign AS Monaco striker Kylian Mbappe.

The Sun's Neil Custis reported Los Blancos are ready to revive their pursuit of long-term target De Gea, with Marco Asensio's recent strides said to have convinced manager Zinedine Zidane he no longer needs Mbappe.

De Gea came close to joining Real in 2015 and was expected to swap places with Los Merengues stopper Keylor Navas until a deadline-day faxing error famously saw the transfer fall to pieces, per BBC Sport.

Asensio scored thunderous goals in each leg of Real's recent 5-1 aggregate Spanish Super Cup victory over Barcelona, and the Mirror's Alex Richards highlighted the bargain cost for which Los Blancos ended up snagging the youngster from Mallorca in 2014:

Former football broadcaster Ian McGarry also recently added fuel to the fire when he appeared on the Transfer Window Podcast (h/t Calciomercato.com) and alleged Asensio has been informed De Gea will be signed this summer:

“He [Asensio] and his representative are saying they need guarantees here because we've heard rumours that you're signing Eden Hazard from Chelsea or sign another galactico outfield player because that's what president Florentino Perez promised when he was elected unopposed in June of this summer.

"In those negotiations I am told that instead Asensio and his representatives were told 'no, we're abandoning all plans to sign a new outfield galactico' and instead the last piece of the jigsaw for Zidane's team is in fact a goalkeeper—and that goalkeeper is as always David De Gea."

The Red Devils aren't likely to be keen on the idea of losing their No. 1 any more than they have been in previous years, and ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan recently mused he's the only United star who would make the cut at the Santiago Bernabeu:

As touched upon by McGarry, Real Madrid president Perez has a track record of making major "galactico" signings in election years, such as Luis Figo in 2000, Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009 or Gareth Bale in 2013.

Former Atletico Madrid keeper De Gea has been frequently linked with a move back to the capital city, but a poll put forth by BBC Radio Manchester reporter Bill Rice showed just how highly United fans rate their 'keeper:

Reports of renewed interest in De Gea contradict those in June that stated Zidane had informed incumbent Real No. 1 Navas that he intended to put his faith in the Costa Rican stopper moving ahead, per J.I. Garcia-Ochoa of Spanish daily Marca.

But with Asensio rising to become a genuine alternative to the likes of first-team stars Ronaldo and Bale, the need to sign Mbappe is no longer so severe, meaning priorities have altered as a result.

Red Devils manager Jose Mourinho has improved his squad this summer with new signings such as Romelu Lukaku and Nemanja Matic, but Real's late push to buy De Gea could disrupt their surging momentum close to the end of the transfer window.