Real Madrid Might Need Gareth Bale, but They Need David De Gea More

In Gareth Bale and David de Gea, respectively, Real Madrid and Manchester United possess a player the other would dearly love to have.

Per Manu Sainz of AS, Madrid have identified De Gea as the man they want to replace Iker Casillas in the Bernabeu goal, while United are looking to crystallise their long-standing interest in Bale as part of their new, Galactico-like signing policy, per John Richardson of the Express.

It is therefore unsurprising that, per Steve Bates of the Sunday People, United have made it clear to Madrid that De Gea will not be allowed to leave Old Trafford unless the Spanish side are willing to part with Bale in exchange.

But is that a deal that would be worth pursuing for Madrid?

The case for De Gea is clear. He has been one of the few regularly impressive performers for Manchester United so far this season, producing numerous excellent saves at vital moments. He was named the club’s Player of the Month for both October and November.

Per the statistical work of Paul Riley, De Gea consistently produces an above-average save percentage from shots taken in and around the penalty area. He is a technically adept and positionally sound goalkeeper who fills his defence with confidence.

Indeed, as Riley notes, De Gea's conservative positioning plays a key role in maximising his reaction time and thus increasing his chances of saving efforts on goal.

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Spain national team coach Vicente del Bosque has begun to ease De Gea into the starting role long occupied by current Madrid goalkeeper Casillas, whom AS recently reported has an agreement with Florentino Perez to leave the Bernabeu on a free transfer at the end of the season.

In Keylor Navas, Madrid have a highly competent backup. He was excellent for Levante last season and was one of the most impressive goalkeepers at last year’s World Cup, performing heroics for the Costa Rica side that surprised everyone by reaching the last eight before falling on penalties to Netherlands.

Yet De Gea looks the better long-term bet. He is four years younger than Navas, has more experience at top-level clubs and is a better distributor of the ball. His relative youth means he could easily be Madrid’s first-choice goalkeeper for eight or more years.

But while Madrid seem certain that De Gea is the one they want, Jose Felix Diaz of Marca reported last week that the club have no interest in allowing Bale to leave as part of a deal for the 24-year-old.

While his overall performance level has been disappointing at times, Bale has provided a strong goal contribution since signing for Madrid in the summer of 2013.

His record of 33 goals and 21 assists in 4,719 minutes of action in La Liga and the Champions League, per WhoScored.com, means that he makes a direct contribution to a goal every 87.39 minutes.

In addition, he scored important goals in Madrid’s two cup-final successes of last season. He notched the winning goal in the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona in April with a powerful and spectacular run from just inside the attacking half and then scored the go-ahead goal in the Champions League final against Atletico Madrid in May.

It could also be argued that in a team without a dominant figure such as Cristiano Ronaldo, both his numbers and performances would improve—a theory that will be tested during Ronaldo’s upcoming suspension.

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But with Ronaldo still on the scene, it is questionable whether Bale will be able to provide performances concomitant with the price Madrid could secure for him in the open market.

Judging by recent reports, United would be willing to pay €67 million (£50 million) plus De Gea in order to sign Bale. Per AS, Madrid have been linked with Borussia Dortmund forward Marco Reus, whose contract includes a €25 million buyout clause. They could sign Reus as Bale’s replacement and still have over half the money left over.

With Jese Rodriguez currently involved in the first-team squad and Denis Cheryshev set to return from his loan spell at Villarreal at the end of the campaign, Madrid are not short of backup options in Bale’s position.

They also functioned well in a 4-4-2/4-2-2-2 formation when Bale was injured earlier this season. The manner in which Carlo Ancelotti adapted to the summer departures of Angel Di Maria and Xabi Alonso suggests he would find solutions even if Bale was sold and not directly replaced.

There are only so many top-level goalkeepers on the market, and while Bale is currently an important part of the Madrid squad, they should consider sacrificing him in order to secure the long-term services of De Gea.