FORMER Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea has touched down in Italy on Friday ahead of his move to Fiorentina.
Free agent De Gea is on the brink of returning to football after 14 months with the Serie A giants.
The 33-year-old is expected to sign a one-year contract with the option of a further 12 months with Fiorentina later this afternoon.
De Gea has been unemployed since leaving United last summer after failing to agree a contract extension.
His last competitive appearance was over 400 days ago in the Red Devils’ defeat to Manchester City in the 2023 FA Cup final.
Last season Pietro Terracciano was Fiorentina’s first-choice goalkeeper after making 53 appearances in all competitions with 13 clean sheets.
The 34-year-old’s contract is set to run out in 2025.
De Gea joined United from Atletico Madrid in 2011 and during this 12-year tenure at the club made 545 appearances.
During his time at the club, he broke Peter Schmeichal’s all-time United record for clean sheets and became the highest appearance-maker for a goalkeeper.
The Spaniard won five major trophies during his time in Manchester including the e Premier League title in 2013, the FA Cup in 2016 and the Europa League in 2017.
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And the shot-stopper amassed numerous individual honours, such as winning the Premier League Golden Glove in both the 2017-18 and 2022-23 seasons.
Additionally, he was recognised as Manchester United’s Player of the Year for three straight seasons from 2013 to 2016.
For Spain, he has won 45 caps with his last appearance in 2020.
Fiorentina finished eighth in Serie A last term and reached the Europa Conference League final for the second year running but were beaten by Olympiacos.
The new campaign begins on August 17 as they face Parma.
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