Kevin Trapp says ’s rumoured interest is a ‘nice acknowledgement’ of his performances for Frankfurt, while reports in Germany claim he has been offered more than just a back-up role.
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Although the Red Devils bounced back from their difficult start to the season with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Liverpool on Monday, doubts still remain over several players including David de Gea.
The Spaniard gifted Brentford two goals in last week’s drubbing against Brentford and did not cover himself in glory for ’s consolation goal on Monday night, while there are big question marks over his ability to play out from the back.
As a result, United have been linked with bringing in a new No.2 goalkeeper – preferably one who is more adept with the ball at his feet – to provide cover and competition for De Gea.
They have been linked with the likes of Borussia Monchengladbach’s Yann Sommer and Benfica’s Odysseas Vlachodimos, while even Norwich City’s Tim Krul has been mooted as a potential option.
Now ex-PSG shot-stopper Trapp is emerging as the frontrunner to rival De Gea for a starting spot between the sticks, with the 32-year-old generally averaging more passes with a better success rate across his career than his potential new team-mate.
Both Trapp and Sommer were thought to have reservations about becoming a backup keeper in a World Cup year, but German publication claim the Frankfurt goalkeeper has been assured of game time.
Trapp would, at the very least, play in all of United’s Carabao Cup games and Europa League group stage matches prior to Qatar, while he would be given every opportunity to dislodged De Gea.
Sport1’s report claims the long-serving Spaniard is considered a ‘shaky’ candidate internally while United are also conscious of the fact he only has one year left on his contract.
Trapp, meanwhile, is flattered by United’s interest and did not close the door to a potential exit, having already left Frankfurt once previously in 2015 when PSG came calling.
‘As I said during my first spell at Frankfurt, it’s always nice when rumours like this come out,’ said Trapp on Monday night at the SportBild Awards show in Hamburg. ‘It’s a nice acknowledgement. But I can’t say anything about it.’
According to Kicker, Trapp has been offered a four-year contract and is keen to make the move to Old Trafford – especially if he feels he has a genuine chance to dethrone De Gea – even though he would be sacrificing Champions League football to do so.
At the same event on Monday, Frankfurt director Markus Krosche confirmed that United had yet to make an official approach, while manager Oliver Glasner was keen for his keeper to remain in Germany.
‘From a sporting point of view, I would of course like to keep such a great goalkeeper and person,’ he said. ‘He is a great role model and always one of the first to arrive at training. But I’m not the final decision-maker.’
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