"Manchester Evening News" reporter Rich Fay said that the 35-year-old Argentina goalkeeper Romero is willing to return to Manchester United and serve as De Gea's substitute role. The veteran has just ended his contract in Venice and has yet to find a suitable next club. Currently, Manchester United is looking for a suitable backup goalkeeper in the transfer market after loaning out Dean Henderson.
Romero joined Manchester United in the summer of 2015. He played for Manchester United for 6 seasons and only played 61 times in various competitions. He became the most hard-working player on the Manchester United bench. In the summer of 2020, Manchester United recalled Henderson as the substitute goalkeeper. Prepared to replace De Gea, who was in declining form at the time, Romero was unable to get a contract extension from Manchester United and had to leave the team for free.
In the year and a half since he left Manchester United, Romero has been on the bench without a ball to play. In an interview with Argentinian media, Romero once said: When he was at Manchester United, he had many opportunities to play for other clubs, but Manchester United are not allowed to leave . Romero believes that this situation is very difficult because he does not get many opportunities on the bench of Manchester United, but he cannot leave Manchester United to join other teams.
It is worth mentioning that when Manchester United won the Europa League championship in 2017, Romero played 12 Europa League games for Manchester United and started in the Europa League final on behalf of Manchester United. Later, when Manchester United competed in the Europa League again in the 2019/2020 season, Romero played 9 Europa League games and helped Manchester United enter the Europa League semi-finals. Manchester United only used De Gea in the semi-finals. As the starting goalkeeper, Manchester United regretted losing.
After leaving Manchester United for nearly 2 years, Romero signed for the Serie A team Venice last season. He played 16 times in the season and was selected into the best team of the week twice. He averaged 4.6 successful saves per game. The success rate reached 69%. Among them, there were 46 saves in the small penalty area, 28 saves in the large penalty area, and an average of 44 touches per game. In half a season in Serie A, Romero still proved that he is a qualified goalkeeper, with a huge range of activities and online save responses.
However, the Venetian club ranked at the bottom of Serie A last season and has fallen into the Italian Serie B. They cannot continue to provide Romero with a contract, and Romero has no choice but to enter a situation where he has no ball to play. Returning to Manchester United at this time may also be a good choice. After all, Manchester United needs to find a qualified backup goalkeeper.
Previously, many media said that Manchester United was preparing to sign Watford backup goalkeeper Bachmann for 4 million pounds. However, considering Manchester United's team building plan, whether Manchester United chooses Romero or Bachmann should be considered in the long run. First of all, De Gea's contract will expire next year, and whether it will be renewed is still unknown. Therefore, it is doubtful who will serve as Manchester United's first goal next year. After all, De Gea's weekly salary is as high as 375,000 pounds.
Secondly, if De Gea does not renew his contract or renews it with a salary cut after his contract expires next year, who will Manchester United choose as the second goalkeeper? In fact, it is best for the first door of a club to be stable, which is why Manchester United will not change the first door this summer. Then the second door should also be stable. The 35-year-old Romero should not be able to serve as Manchester United's second door for more than 2 times. season, this means that Manchester United will still need to find a second goal in the transfer market in the next one or two seasons.
In terms of feelings and short-term interests, Romero should indeed be exempted from signing. Whether it is the guilt of this veteran or the tribute to Romero's career, after all, Manchester United can save 4 million pounds in signing fees. But in the long run, perhaps ten Hag will not consider Romero.
