Manchester United are still reportedly yet to offer David de Gea a new contract, with less than 16 months left on the Spaniard's current deal.

What's the story?

Duncan Castles, who is very close to Jose Mourinho, has reported on Yahoo Sport that United goalkeeper is still waiting for an extended contract to be offered to him.

There is a one-year option that could be activated to extend the contract until 2020 but de Gea wants an improved financial package.

There has been long-standing and well-reported interest from Real Madrid in his signature and he would have joined the Spanish giants in 2015 but for an administrative error.

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United cannot afford to lose him

Put simply, de Gea is the best goalkeeper in the world. He has saved United more times than you could care to name, performing heroics on an almost weekly basis.

He is valued at £45m by transfermarkt.co.uk, but that only reflects how his dwindling contract is affecting his pricetag - he is surely worth more in the open market.

The longer United leave this situation to fester, the more likely it is that de Gea - whose girifriend lives in Madrid - will become unsettled again and want to move to the Bernabeu.

It will also give Madrid confidence that they can not only do a deal but get him at a knock-down price, which would make the loss even more galling for United.

Jose Mourinho's side are still a way from where he and their fans would like them to be. Much transfer activity and work on the training field lies ahead in order to catch City but losing de Gea would be a monumental step back.

The former Chelsea boss is no different from his two predecessors, David Moyes and Louis van Gaal, in that he has needed bailing out by de Gea on many, many more occasions than is healthy.

United have to resolve this situation as soon as possible.