Manchester United are reportedly eyeing a move for a new goalkeeper as manager Erik ten Hag looks ahead to next season.
What’s the latest on Diogo Costa to Manchester United?
According to Portuguese news outlet O Jogo (March 3, page 2) United are interested in signing Porto stopper Diogo Costa this summer and have been regularly monitoring him ahead of a potential summer swoop.
The shot-stopper is thought to have a release clause of €75m (£66m) at his current side and with Ten Hag no stranger to splashing the cash so far at United it could represent a good deal for the club.
Current goalkeeper David De Gea only has a few months left on his current deal and with his future not yet certain, a goalkeeper could be high on the Dutchman’s shopping list during the transfer window.
Could Costa replace De Gea at Man United?
The 6 foot 3 Spaniard has come in for some criticism over the previous few years, with his performances dipping. Since the start of the 2020/2021 campaign, the United keeper has conceded 141 goals in 116 matches, keeping just 37 clean sheets during that time.
BBC sports writer Phil McNulty even described him as a “liability” previously and it could well be time for Ten Hag to move on and continue his rebuild of the side by signing a younger ‘keeper.
Costa has emerged as one of the continent’s most talented keepers evidenced by the fact he ranks in the top 1% for goals conceded (0.61), 2% for clean sheet percentage (54.2%), and 7% for touches (41.58) across Europe’s next eight divisions via FBref.
This proves he could be a worthy successor to De Gea and aged just 23, has yet to arguably reach his peak years. Talent scout Jacek Kulig has described the Porto star as a “wall” and he could significantly boost the United squad.
This season, Costa has been in excellent form, averaging a 7.02/10 rating via Sofascore while keeping 11 clean sheets in 22 league matches, with that a marginally better record than that of De Gea who has a 6.94 average match rating this season, while keeping ten clean sheets in 24 league games.
The younger man has conceded just 0.6 goals per game, has saved two shots per match – a success rate of 76% – and succeeded with 94% of his attempted runs out per match, while the United stalwart has conceded 1.2 goals per game, albeit while saving 2.8 shots per game and succeeding with 100% of his attempted runs out.
However, it is his performances in the Champions League this term that will really show Ten Hag how good he is. The keeper ranks as the competition’s 22nd-best player with an average Sofascore rating of 7.46/10 and he has saved three of the four penalties that were taken against him.
The Portuguese sensation also kept three clean sheets from seven matches and saved 76% of shots against him while even registering an assist in Europe’s elite competition.
There is no doubt he has all the required attributes to successfully take over from De Gea in the United goal and Ten Hag must make him a summer priority.
