After a year completely out of football, David de Gea's star has been on the rise again since joining Italian side Fiorentina.
There were doubts the Spain international would ever play again as his absence from football continued following his departure from Manchester United last summer.
De Gea left Old Trafford in the summer of 2023 after 12 years at the club, where he won eight major trophies, two Premier League Golden Glove awards and was named in the PFA Team of the Year six times.
But he did not sign new terms at the end of the 2022/2023 season and left the club on a free transfer. While United replaced him with Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana, De Gea's search for a new club was more difficult.
Despite links with a return to Spain and a move to the Saudi Pro League, the summer transfer window ended without him finding new work.
Ties with Newcastle and Real Madrid followed ahead of the January transfer window following respective injuries to Nick Pope and Thibaut Courtois, but neither move materialized.
A year passed and with De Gea still without a club, Fiorentina decided to take a chance in the summer and offered the 34-year-old a one-year contract with an option for a further year.
“Despite being out of action for a year, he is clearly a big name in the sport,” Italian football expert Alasdair Mackenzie told the Manchester Evening News when asked about the reaction to the move in Italy.
“I think there was some excitement about it, but obviously tinged with the realization that it's a different kind of transfer.
“They didn't sign someone who had just been United's number one. They signed someone who had been out of action for a year. There was uncertainty about what they would get.”
“They've gone through quite a lot of changes overall this summer. That uncertainty wasn't just about De Gea's arrival. They had a new coach who brought in a whole load of new players. De Gea was part of a general changing of the guard in the summer.
But there was excitement because of what he had achieved in his career and it was also a position that they had to strengthen for years, to be honest. someone of that caliber.”
But amid the uncertainty, De Gea's start in Florence could not have gone better. After an initial entry period, he has now proven himself as the club's number one goalkeeper.
And Fiorentina, despite losing popular manager Vincenzo Italiano in the summer, have lost just one of their first 12 games in Serie A and currently sit third in the table, just one point behind leaders Napoli.
De Gea was an integral part of that success and even set up one of Moise Kean's goals in their 3-1 win over Hellas Verona last time out.
The fans quickly took him to their hearts and De Gea rediscovered his love for football at the Artemio Franchi Stadium.
“It's been hugely successful,” Mackenzie added when asked about De Gea's start at Fiorentina.
“They surprised everyone. It is a club that has often had purple spots, but has never really been able to do that consistently in a competitive season.
“But the way they started this year has got people really excited about what the future could bring under Paladino.
“As for De Gea's impact, he was in and out of the team when he came up to speed but he has now taken that place and made it his own.
“He has played really well and even got an assist for one of Moise Kean's goals last weekend. He really embraces the decision he has made.
“It must seem fantastic for him because he has joined the club at a very good time and optimism is very high.
“He has settled in. He has no desire to give interviews or talk to the media and only seems to be focusing on getting back to where he was.
“He posted a tweet a few weeks ago saying born in Spain, made in Manchester and loving life in Italy. I think that about sums it up, to be honest.”
The question now is whether De Gea will continue with the stability of his Italian love affair or pursue a higher goal now that his name and impressive achievements are in the spotlight again.
After all, this is a goalkeeper who has been courted by Real Madrid for years and who is the same age as Edwin Van Der Sar when he joined United in 2005.
“It's hard to know where he stands, but he's playing well, the team is playing good football and he's back to playing his best,” Mackenzie concluded.
“You'd probably think he'd want to continue where he is now. He'd probably recognize and appreciate the situation he's in after not playing for a year.
“But I'm sure there would be interest in him as he has a one-year contract and he's playing like that, but he seems to be in the right place at the right time as Fiorentina are quite ambitious in what they want to achieve.” .
“They will really try to convince him to stay there and it will take a big club or a big offer to take him away from that.”
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