The ever exciting saga of David De Gea’s potential move to Real Madrid has been addressed by his boss. He has made a handful of comments on the situation, none of which are very revealing, but he has said he is preparing for life without the Spanish ‘keeper. And it should be no surprise.

Firstly, why else has Louis Van Gaal signed Victor Valdes? Valdes joined back in January, and eased himself back into football after injury with the help of Van Gaal. But you do not bring in a player of Valdes' calibre just for him to keep the bench warm.

Admittedly he has had very little impact on the current Premier League campaign, but if De Gea does go, there will already be an incredibly experienced goalkeeper waiting to fill his spot. The only issue with bringing in Valdes is his age. De Gea has improved massively yet he is still only 24-years-old, while Valdes is 33.

It should be no surprise that Louis Van Gaal is planning for life without one of his biggest players, even if it is fuelling rumours. Realistically, Van Gaal should be prepared to lose any of his players, whether they are vital to him or not.

At the end of the day, this is football. Loyalty does exist within the game but it is becoming harder and harder to find. If a player has ambitions to join another club, they will. If a club throws enough money at you, you will sign. Louis Van Gaal is just being a smart manager by preparing for the loss of De Gea to his United side.

Football is unpredictable, and you can only take what people say with a pinch of salt. Louis Van Gaal lining up replacements for De Gea does not necessarily mean the Spaniard is already gone. But it does not hurt to be prepared for when the day does come.

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