Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea has instructed his agent, Jorge Mendes, to engineer talks with club officials in order to renew his current deal in England, according to the Spanish publication AS.

The newspaper claims the Spain international knows United boss Louis van Gaal is prepared to keep him on the bench for the remainder of the season until he agrees a new deal with the club. United’s stance is that de Gea must accept the club’s offer to amplify his contract — which was proposed last season — in order to strengthen its negotiating position against expected assaults from Real Madrid.

De Gea’s contract expires in June, and the player could join the Spanish giants without a transfer fee next summer. The 24-year-old was on the verge of joining Real Madrid during the dying hours of the most recent transfer window, only to see the deal collapse, with both clubs pointing the finger of blame at the other.

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Most have assumed that United would plug de Gea right back into the starting lineup after the players return from international break. However, van Gaal could continue keeping the goalkeeper on the bench unless he renews with the club. The Spain international has already been excluded from United’s first four Premier League games as well as their Champions League qualifiers against Club Brugge.

Van Gaal did name de Gea to his Champions League squad. However, the manager has also included goalkeepers Sergio Romero and Sam Johnstone in his side.

Spanish national team coach Vicente del Bosque has added to de Gea’s concerns with his public comments regarding the player’s current situation in England. The veteran coach says it will be “very difficult” to pick the goalkeeper for his Euro 2016 squad if he doesn’t play regular soccer.

De Gea has since been named in del Bosque’s squad for Spain’s upcoming qualifiers against Slovakia and Macedonia, and the coach is urging the 24-year-old to focus on his soccer – not off the field issues.

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“He needs to be professional and move on from this episode,” del Bosque said.

“I hope that he starts playing again and is happy, and if he plays well we can bring him along, otherwise if he doesn’t play it will be very difficult for him to come [to Euro 2016].”

AS is reporting that De Gea’s agent has held meetings with United executives and has urged them to resolved his client’s situation. The club’s stance is the player must renew before any assurances are made regarding his playing time this season.