David De Gea's future at Manchester United has been the subject of some intense speculation over the past 12 months. Last summer it seemed as though he was off back to Spain with Real Madrid rumoured to be sizing him up, only for an administrative error on Real's behalf saw him remain at Old Trafford for another season.
Those links to the Spanish capital are refusing to go away as the summer transfer window approaches, and it seems that the Red Devils are resigning themselves to losing him at some point in the coming months.
The player's desire to leave, plus a mooted £50 million transfer fee could prove too much for Mourinho and his staff to battle against, making a search for a new top class goalkeeper one of their top priorities of the window.
However, while everyone at the club is said to be aware of the situation, Mourinho is wary of the speculation becoming too much of a distraction for his number one.
With the top four firmly in sight, a report in the Daily Mirror is claiming that Mourinho is willing to strike a deal with the 26-year-old.
The proposed deal would see Mourinho not stand in the custodian's way in summer transfer talks with Real so long as he can give his full focus on the club's end-of-season run in.
The usually reliable shot-stopper has looked decidedly unfocused in recent weeks, and Mourinho is eager to see him return to the kind of form that has made him one of the best – if not the best – goalkeeper in the league.
Not only are the Red Devils pushing hard to secure a top four finish, but they have also reached the latter stages of the Europa League, with many believing that is a more viable route back into the Champions League they cannot afford to take the competition lightly.
Mourinho knows he needs to get United back into Europe's most elite club competition as soon as possible and needs the key players in his squad fully focussed in order to achieve that at the first time of asking.
World Record Fee
Should the alleged £50million deal go ahead to take De Gea back to Spain go ahead, it would make him the world's most expensive goalkeeper, eclipsing the £32m Juventus paid Parma for Gianluigi Buffon's signature back in 2001.
De Gea's failure to secure a move to the Bernabeu last summer saw him pen a new contract with United, though it crucially didn't contain a release clause fee.
That, though, has left United in a strong position to ask for whatever fee they wish, and with hefty summer rebuilding plans in the pipeline, they will be happy for the extra cash boost.
As for De Gea, he seems to have decided that after six years in Manchester, now is the right time to return home and take his career to the next level.