The 32-year-old’s current deal expires at the end of next month but he is expected to pen fresh terms imminently after accepting a significant pay cut and being informed that he will not be guaranteed to remain as the club’s number one.
United have been linked with moves for the likes of Brentford’s David Raya and Porto keeper Diogo Costa, with De Gea – who struggles to play out from the back – having made a number of high-profile gaffes despite claiming the Premier League’s Golden Glove award.
Roy Keane recently urged Erik ten Hag to ‘move De Gea on quickly’ but Herrera has hit back at criticism of his former team-mate and has hinted his compatriot will remain at Old Trafford.
In an interview with Manchester United’s official Scandinavian supporters club, Herrera said: ‘When you are one of the best in the world, when you have been in the Premier League Team of the Season – if I’m not wrong – five seasons, when you are considered the top one in the world for a moment of your career, you are going to be always criticised!
‘We can see Lionel Messi in Paris, he’s under criticism. So imagine all the other players when we are not in our best moment, they are going to kill us!
‘But you have to accept it, the same as you accept when everyone praises you and says you are the best, you have to accept and you have to improve in your bad moments, football is like this. You have to change that situation.
‘I like the way that he reacts after the mistakes. Always when he has a bad day, the next two or three games he makes the difference, and he makes some saves that gives you points.
‘And that’s what Erik ten Hag said in one of his press conferences: how can you kill David if he has given us a lot of points this season? And if I’m not wrong, he now has the record for clean sheets at the club.
‘Even in the bad moments he is, for me, one of the best. I’m sure he’s going to give still a lot of points and titles and wins for the club.’
Asked if he expects to see De Gea stay for a few more years, Herrera continued: ‘I think [so]. I didn’t ask him if he’s going to sign a new contract, but I guess he’s going to do it.
‘He cannot finish his time at Manchester United, even more so when he’s at a good age for a goalkeeper, when he has given the team victories in some moments of this season.
‘So I have a lot of confidence in David. I speak with him almost every week, every month, and he’s not worried. He has so much confidence in himself and he’s going – I hope he’s going – to sign a new contract.’
MORE : Manchester United target Diogo Costa expected to leave Porto this summer
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