Real Madrid in advanced talks with Manchester United legend David de Gea following Thibaut Courtois injury

David de Gea is a free agent after leaving Man Utd (Photo: Getty)

Real Madrid look set to sign Manchester United legend David de Gea, according to reports.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

This comes after their star goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois injured his ACL in training, with the Belgian international now set to undergo surgery.

It means that Real are set to kick-off their season on Saturday, with a La Liga clash at Athletic Bilbao, with Andriy Lunin the only senior keeper at the club.

Understandably, Los Blancos are moving quickly to find a replacement and have already made contact with De Gea who is a free agent after leaving United earlier this summer.

According to talkSPORT, talks are already in an advanced stage for the 32-year-old who left Old Trafford in acrimonious circumstances after 12 years of incredible service.

The four-time United Player of the Season was set to sign a new contract only for the club to withdraw that offer, with Erik ten Hag keen to buy a new keeper whose better on the ball – eventually signing Andre Onana from Inter Milan.

De Gea has since turned down the chance to sign for Inter and has also courted interest from Bayern Munich who are looking for a new No.1 with Manuel Neuer still on the sidelines after breaking his leg last December.

Thibaut Courtois is to undergo surgery after injuring his ACL (Photo: Getty)

Bayern are also eyeing up Chelsea star Kepa Arrizabalaga who is available after the Blues signed Robert Sanchez from Brighton.

The Bundesliga champions want to sign the world’s most expensive keeper on loan with an option to buy, but it also said that Real are weighing up whether to make a similar approach should they fail to land De Gea.

Perhaps ironically, Chelsea signed Kepa in 2018 in order to replace Courtois after he forced through his dream move to Real.

More: Trending

Should De Gea, an academy graduate from Real’s local rivals Atletico, end up back in Madrid, it will have come nearly eight years after he very, very nearly signed for Los Blancos in one of the strangest transfer sagas in history.

In 2015, United agreed to sell the Spaniard on deadline day only for a faulty fax machine to mean that the necessary forms did not arrive on time and transfer fell through.

MORE : Pep Guardiola gives update on future of Manchester City stars Kyle Walker and Cole Palmer

MORE : Kylian Mbappe tells PSG he will not leave the club this summer amid links to the Premier League

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.