Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea has been a stalwart for the club, serving for over a decade and encapsulating the highs and the lows of the prestigious football club during his tenure between the sticks. 

Signing from Spanish La Liga giants Atletico Madrid on a permanent deal in 2011, De Gea has made 511 appearances for the Red Devils, keeping 177 clean sheets and winning multiple major honours including the Premier League, Europa League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup.

But over the past few seasons, the Spaniard has encountered multiple bouts of criticism over his performances, with journalist Dominic Booth branding the 32-year-old as "woeful" after a dreadful Champions League display against German outfit RB Leipzig.

And now, according to The Sun, the Everton 'keeper is attracting attention from the likes of United and Tottenham Hotspur, despite revealing to the Everton hierarchy that he wishes to remain at the club.

Despite this, Toffees owner Farhad Moshiri is unwilling to offer much more than the current £100k-per-week contract he is tied to, and with suitors promising a lucrative upgrade in salary, Everton boss Frank Lampard might face a strenuous task in succeeding in clinching the new deal, with his current contract set for expiry at the end of next season.

Time to ditch De Gea

Signing for Everton in 2017 in a - then - club-record £30m transfer from Sunderland, Pickford has established himself as a mainstay in the perennial Premier League competitors as well as earning the No. 1 spot in the England set-up, making 50 appearances.

Across the past two seasons, despite his Merseyside outfit's struggles, the 28-year-old has recorded average league ratings of 6.87 and 7.11, as per Sofascore.

De Gea had been struggling for form, however, a recent purple patch in the Premier League has boosted his average rating up to 6.95, bolstering his overarching desire to remain at the Theatre of Dreams while he still feels at the top of his game.

However, with the £23m-rated Pickford four years his positional peer's junior, and with De Gea indeed on a lucrative wage of £375k-per-week, shifting the man at the bedrock of Ten Hag's team could be a prudent move indeed.

Pickford, who was dubbed a "monster" by journalist Joe Crann, has devoted years of stellar servitude to an Everton outfit that have been wayward in direction and spluttering in strategy, and it could be time for the shot-stopper to earn a move to a European-challenging outfit.

If his performances with the national team are anything to go by, recording an average rating of 6.86 at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and keeping three clean sheets from five outings, then United would prosper with a composed, assured leader to signify the embody of the changing of the guard at the club.