An update has emerged on Manchester United and their chances of adding a new goalkeeper to their squad ahead of the 2023/24 campaign…
What's the latest on Diogo Costa to Manchester United?
According to 90min, the Red Devils have now been offered the chance to sign Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa as the Primeira Liga outfit are in need of funds to comply with Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations.
The report also claims that fellow Premier League side Chelsea have also been given the opportunity to snap the Portugal shot-stopper up this summer, as both English teams had already placed him on their shortlist of targets.
It states that the 23-year-old international has a release clause in his contract that would allow him to move on for a fee in the region of £65m, although it remains to be seen whether or not Porto would be willing to accept a lower figure due to their financial concerns.
Would Diogo Costa be a good signing for Manchester United?
Erik ten Hag could secure something of a transfer masterclass by taking advantage of this situation to secure a deal for the shot-stopping colossus in the coming weeks.
David de Gea is reportedly likely to move on at the end of his contract this summer, after the club attempted to go back on their initial contract offer to the Spaniard with a proposal that would have seen him earning even less, which would leave the number one shirt at Old Trafford vacant.
Bringing Costa in would be a terrific piece of business by the Red Devils boss as the Swiss-born titan has the potential to be a big upgrade on the soon-to-be free agent.
De Gea made three woeful errors directly leading to goals for the opposition across the Premier League and Europa League in 2022/23. In contrast, the Porto gem did not make a single mistake directly leading to the ball flying into his net throughout the Primeira Liga or Champions League campaign last term.
As a shot-stopper, Costa saved his team a whopping 6.1 league goals based on the post-shot expected goals (xG) of the shots against him last season, which essentially means that he prevented six goals that the average player in his position would have been expected to concede.
Meanwhile, United's number one conceded 0.7 more goals than the post-shot xG suggested the average goalkeeper would allow past them.
This would indicate that the experienced Spaniard underperformed between the sticks and does not offer as much quality, in terms of keeping the ball out of the net, as the £65m-rated tank.
Costa has also stopped a higher percentage (7.5%) of crosses into his box than de Gea (3.1%) over the last year, and this implies that United would have a greater presence at the back to alleviate pressure from the defence when dealing with an aerial bombardment.
Therefore, ten Hag would be sealing a masterclass by replacing his current no.1 with a summer swoop for the Porto star, who was once hailed as a "Superman" by talent scout Jacek Kulig, as the aforementioned statistics indicate that he would be a big and long-term upgrade on the struggling 32-year-old dud.
