Revealed: David de Gea rejected shock Premier League return in January as ex-Man Utd goalkeeper turned down Nottingham Forest offer in final week of window

With Forest seemingly losing faith in goalkeepers Matt Turner and Odysseas Vlachodimos, they were on the hunt for a new stopper in January. The Athletic has reported that they tried to tempt free agent De Gea to the City Ground, with intermediaries pitching a proposed short-term deal to his camp. This was seen as a way for the Spaniard to put himself in the 'shop window', with a view to securing a bigger move in the summer. But he wasn't interested, and Forest then signed Matz Sels instead.

De Gea remains a free agent and now faces spending a whole year out of football, unless a team find themselves in a sticky goalkeeper situation and he finds the opportunity appealing. Ironically, the Spaniard could very easily have still been playing for Manchester United this season, had the club not withdrawn the offer of a new contract and gone on to pursue Andre Onana. Repeated speculation about going to Saudi Arabia has never yielded anything concrete, while Bayern Munich and Real Madrid were linked with De Gea last summer when both had goalkeeping needs that have since been addressed.

Even away from football, De Gea is finding ways to fill his time. He founded and owns an esports team called Rebels Gaming, convincing ex-United teammates Bruno Fernandes and Juan Mata to join as shareholders in the autumn of 2022.

At 33, De Gea is by no means considered old for a goalkeeper. But the longer he is out of football, the closer he is to sleepwalking towards retirement, as it will only get increasingly difficult to get back into it. If the summer comes and goes without him joining a new club, the likelihood of anything but retirement seems slim.