Man Utd Must Resist the Temptation to Swap David De Gea for Gareth Bale

He’d made a string of astonishing saves, but one in particular defied all reasonable belief. Having stopped a first-half penalty and a number of seemingly goal-bound Everton efforts, David De Gea threw up an outstretched left arm to tip Bryan Oviedo’s blistering shot over the bar.

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Roberto Martinez turned away, hands on head, almost laughing at the incredibility of what he had just seen. De Gea’s own defenders reacted in a similar manner, although their disbelief came from the other end of the emotional spectrum. It was a performance that underlined just how fortunate Manchester United are to have such an exceptional goalkeeper.

But considering De Gea’s performances this season, it was only natural that rumours about his future at United should arise, with Real Madrid circling as Real Madrid tend to do, as per the Manchester Evening News (h/t Ben Jefferson of the Daily Express).

Florentino Perez apparently views De Gea as his next Galactico, identifying him as the long-term successor to Iker Casillas. The 24-year-old has already displaced San Iker at international level, so it seems fitting that he would do the same on the club stage.

De Gea's value is estimated to be about £50 million—as per Richard Tanner of the Daily Express—with the signing of Victor Valdes hinting that the club is already preparing for De Gea's departure. In addition, United could find themselves in a strong negotiating position despite De Gea only having 18 months left on his current contract.

Real Madrid have something United reportedly want—Gareth Bale. After a successful debut season in Spain, in which he scored what turned out to be the winning goal in the Champions League final, the Welsh winger has struggled this term, becoming something of an unfortunate scapegoat for the Santiago Bernabeu crowd.

However, United should resist the temptation to swap De Gea for Bale. Such an urge is understandable, given that no matter how astonishing a save is, a goal is always more exhilarating. Still, Louis Van Gaal would be foolish to sanction such a move.

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United mustn’t forget just how unsettling the search for Peter Schmeichel’s successor was for the club, particularly their defence. It wasn’t until Edwin van der Sar arrived at Old Trafford six years after the Dane’s retirement that United moved on, having spent millions on Mark Bosnich, Fabien Barthez, Massimo Taibi, Roy Carroll and Tim Howard.

With Man Utd in transition following Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement, the hiring and firing of David Moyes and Louis Van Gaal’s appointment, they can hardly afford to sell the only bedrock of their team. 

It’s difficult to imagine just how much worse off United would be this season were it not for their Spanish goalkeeper. Factor in magnificent displays against West Ham, Everton, Stoke, Liverpool and Southampton, and it’s reasonable to calculate that De Gea has saved his team no less than eight Premier League points this term.

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It may provide something of an indictment on United’s current back line, but De Gea has won the Old Trafford club more points this season than Bale ever would have. Even at his very best, the Welshman wouldn’t have had the impact the Spanish goalkeeper has had over the past six months.

In fact, the case could be made that De Gea is Man Utd’s only true world-class player (perhaps with the sole exception of Angel Di Maria). Manuel Neuer might be highly effective as something of a sweeper 'keeper, with Thibaut Courtois more commanding from set pieces, but David De Gea is currently the best pure goalkeeper in Europe. Just like Schmeichel and van der Sar before him, the Spaniard has developed an aura.

Van Gaal remains confident that De Gea will sign a new contract at United to ward off interest from Real Madrid, but he could be overruled. Plenty of what Ed Woodward has said over the past year hints at his desire to turn the Old Trafford club into the Real Madrid of the Premier League. Carrying that out will be difficult should United sell their best player to them.