Louis van Gaal: 'I believe still that David de Gea will stay'

In a world where everyone is convinced that David de Gea will seek whiter pastures at the end of the Premier League season, manager Louis van Gaal is holding out optimism.

All signs point to De Gea leaving Manchester United this summer to join Real Madrid, his hometown club. The 24-year-old 'keeper is a Spanish international, his girlfriend is Spanish, and playing at Old Trafford forces his parents to travel every week or two. Life could clearly be easier for the shot-stopper at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Against this backdrop, however, Van Gaal continues to believe that De Gea will see out the final year of his contract at United.

Asked whether or not Victor Valdes could replace De Gea at Old Trafford, Van Gaal replied: "First we have to see if De Gea is leaving. Then we shall talk about the other things. I believe still that David de Gea will stay."

United reportedly offered De Gea a £150,000-a-week contract, and Van Gaal recently warned his first-choice 'keeper of how much he'd lose by joining Real Madrid, saying: "You have seen the fans - unbelievable. When he is going, he is losing that. Here he has a lot of credits. He has to decide."

Sunday will see United close out their season at Hull City, but De Gea may have played his last match for Van Gaal as he's dealing with a hamstring injury suffered against Arsenal.