Paul Scholes believes David De Gea is “out of order” if it is true that the goalkeeper has become unsettled amid speculation surrounding his future.

The Welshman has been a long time target of the Red Devils with manager Louis van Gaal still keen on adding some considerable muscle to his forward line for the 2015/16 season. Speaking on BT Sport after United defeated Club Brugge 4-0 to reach the group stage of the Champions League, the 40-year-old didn’t hold back.

“They paid a lot of money for a young keeper to give him this chance”.

Several United first-team players who require match practice – such as Marcos Rojo and Antonio Valencia – will be played, with the expressed aim of getting players up to speed for the rigours of first-team football.

Scholes said: “If it wasn’t for him previous year, they probably wouldn’t be in this position tonight so they have to thank him for that”.

I don’t think it is going to happen this window.

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De Gea, for his part, remains optimistic that he will be a Real Madrid player this time next week and he has been reassured by his agent Jorge Mendes throughout this exhausting saga. It has become a bit tit-for-tat, there is a lot going on behind the scenes we can’t explain because we don’t know, but you’ve got to play him.

Scholes is right that De Gea should not be refusing to play for United until the situation is resolved, especially for the wages he is on.

Expect De Gea to emerge from the stands after the window shuts.

How David De Gea compared to Keylor Navas and Kiko Casilla last season.