Manchester United report: Mega price tag revealed for Porto keeper Diogo Costa
Manchester United are considering replacements for David de Gea, but Diogo Costa's signing would be expensive
Manchester United would have to fork out £65 million to bring in Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa, according to reports, as they look for a David de Gea replacement.
De Gea, 32, enters the final year of his Old Trafford deal at the end of the season and the Premier League side are considering replacements.
A report from Portuguese outlet Correio de Manha (via Sky Sports) says Costa is among the options, but he won’t be allowed to leave during the January transfer window.
What’s more, Porto will demand that Costa’s full €75m (£65m) release clause is met if a deal is to be done next summer.
Costa is nine years De Gea’s younger and has established himself as Portugal’s No.1, starting in every game for his country at the World Cup.
The keeper kept one clean sheet, in a 2-0 group win over Uruguay, as Portugal reached the quarter-finals, where they lost 1-0 to surprise package Morocco.
Costa came through the youth system at Porto and has 87 senior appearances to his name for the club, including 19 this season in all competitions.
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He possesses Champions League experience and has won two Portuguese titles and two Portuguese Cups, as well as the Under-17 and Under-19 Euros with his country.
De Gea has been United’s first-choice goalkeeper this season, making 14 Premier League appearances, but he has been linked with a move away.
The Spaniard is an Old Trafford stalwart; he arrived from Atletico Madrid in 2011 and has racked up more than 500 appearances for the club.
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Alasdair Mackenzie is a freelance journalist based in Rome, and a FourFourTwo contributor since 2015. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. An Italophile since growing up on a diet of Football Italia on Channel 4, he now counts himself among thousands of fans sharing a passion for Ross County and Lazio.