Manchester United played their first friendly match of the season in Seattle this morning against Mexico’s Club América without David De Gea. “David and [Antonio] Valencia are suffering from minor injuries and we can’t risk them at this stage,” said coach Louis Van Gaal following his team’s 1-0 win.
Sam Johnstone and Anders Lindegaard each played a half in goal. According to the club, De Gea suffered a knock in training prior to the match. As AS revealed on Friday, Van Gaal still believes that United’s first choice keeper will leave this summer. The Spanish international has just one year left on his current contract and Executive Vice-President Ed Woodward is keen to maximize the club’s return on the keeper. The asking price has been set at €49 million, though Kiko Casilla’s move to Madrid has caught the English club by surprise. If they don’t cash in this summer, De Gea could leave for nothing next year.
United’s next match in the International Champions Cup will be on the 21st July in San Jose, California. It remains to be seen whether the keeper will play against the Earthquakes, or four days later when Van Gaal’s men face Barcelona in Santa Clara. British network Sky Sports has reported that that Van Gaal has accepted that he will lose his starting keeper and won’t use him on the North American tour.