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Manchester United will have to include an escape clause if they are to persuade David De Gea to sign a new contract.

United believe they can still secure the Spanish international on a fresh deal, with just 17 months left on his current agreement.

But while the Red Devils are willing to break the bank by making De Gea the world’s highest-paid keeper on £200,000-a-week, the player’s advisers are demanding that a buy-out clause is included in any deal.

United are reluctant to agree. But with European champions Real Madrid circling and time ticking down on De Gea’s future, their negotiating position is so weak that they could be left with no other option if they want to protect themselves financially.

De Gea is currently valued at £50million by United but that is unrealistic, given the time left on his current contract.

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However, that figure may be a starting point when it comes to pitching a buy-out clause during negotiations.

As things stand, De Gea could leave Old Trafford for nothing at the end of next season. And that would open up the 24-year-old’s option of negotiating a huge signing-on fee and wage package with his next club.

He has been happy at United in the four-and-a-half years since he arrived from Atletico Madrid in a £17.8million deal, but the lure of the Bernabeu is a big one for a player currently battling with Iker Casillas for Spain’s No 1 jersey.

United manager Louis van Gaal insists he wants De Gea to stay, although negotiations haven’t been helped by the way the Dutchman has handled on-loan Radamel Falcao this season - the Monaco striker is also represented by De Gea’s Portuguese super-agent, Jorge Mendes.