Paper Round: De Gea will get fresh start at Man United

Premier League
Paper Round: De Gea will get fresh start at Man United

David De Gea will get worked back into the team even if he doesn't sign a new contract. That and more from Friday's papers.

De Gea will play even if he doesn't sign new deal - David De Gea's playing time will not be determined by whether he signs a new contract at Manchester United. The Mirror understand that Louis van Gaal will hand De Gea a fresh start and that his status in the team won't be affected by whether he signs a new contract or not. De Gea was concerned he'd be ostracized at United and lose his spot as Spain's goalkeeper, but van Gaal is ready to bring him back into the team and keep him there all season.

Paper Round's view - Starting Sergio Romero instead of De Gea because De Gea would like to leave on a free transfer after the season would be the height of stupidity. De Gea is so much better than Romero and it's not as if there's reason to think that he's not going to give the Red Devils his best effort. He should be their starting goalkeeper and van Gaal will ensure he is given the chance to be.

Man United beat out Europe's heavyweights to Martial -
Why did Manchester United spend so much money on Anthony Martial? Sources tell The Mail that the Red Devils had to because Barcelona, PSG, Manchester City and Chelsea were all chasing the 19-year-old. Man United paid £36 million for Martial, with add-ons potentially taking it up to £57.6m. Had Man United not signed Martial, the player could have signed a pre-contract in January with anyone he pleased. 'We paid a premium to get him now. It is similar to what we did with Ronaldo - and that turned out OK," the source said.

Paper Round's view - Martial is one of Europe's best young talents and he's not just a bundle of potential. He's proven himself to be capable in Ligue 1 and the Champions League already. If he makes good on his considerable potential, the Red Devils will have done well, but they're still paying an enormous price. It's tough to imagine that they had to pay all that money when everyone else was trying to sign him to a pre-contract months from now, but Man United aren't exactly efficient on the transfer market.