Diogo Costa of FC Porto

For Erik ten Hag, the future holds a number of significant choices that will need to be made. His redesigned team is making consistent strides on the field, and they are starting to take shape as a result; however, he still has some important decisions to make, decisions that will determine how successful he ultimately is.

This summer has been filled with so much uncertainty that he has postponed many of the more significant decisions. Despite his desire to leave, Cristiano Ronaldo remained with the club, and Harry Maguire kept his position as club captain. David de Gea maintained his position as the starting goalkeeper.

It is likely going to be necessary to address all three of those things during the following summer. Maguire is no longer a regular starter for the team, De Gea continues to be an awkward fit in the back line, and it is widely anticipated that Ronaldo will leave when his current deal comes to an end.

Both a new striker and a new captain will have to be discovered from within the team, and the search for the striker will take place in the transfer market. However, it's possible that Ten Hag already has someone in mind to take De Gea's place as the starting goalkeeper.

When a new shot-stopper is being discussed, there is frequently a discussion about whether or not Dean Henderson is suitable for the role. However, the England goalkeeper might have ruined his reputation with controversial comments when he left, and aside from that, his subsequent performances on loan at Nottingham Forest haven't exactly set the world on fire.

If United wants to be the best, they need a goalkeeper who not only perfectly fits the vision of Ten Hag, but also one who can go toe-to-toe with his rivals in the league and reach the new benchmark set for the modern goalkeeper. If United wants to be the best, they need a goalkeeper who can go toe-to-toe with his rivals in the league and reach the new benchmark.

The ability to make saves is still the best indicator of how good a goalkeeper is, but the position has changed significantly at the elite level. For a team that wants to play out from the back like United, their number one goalkeeper needs to be able to direct the attacking orchestra and be just as comfortable with their feet as they are with their hands.

De Gea showed some signs of improvement in his most recent outing against Everton last weekend, but he is still not a confident sweeper keeper, and it is difficult to envision him ever adapting enough for the role his manager wants him to play. In his most recent outing, De Gea showed some signs of improvement. The Spaniard has already provided 11 years of service to United, so by the summer of 2019, the club needs to put their attention toward signing a young goalkeeper who has the potential to dominate the role for the next decade.

Many supporters of Manchester United have expressed their hope that the club will be able to acquire the services of Diogo Costa, a promising young goalkeeper who has been turning heads with his play for Porto this campaign. The 23-year-old keeper has all the makings of the prototypical modern goalkeeper and was the star of the show on Wednesday night as his team defeated Leverkusen 3-0 in the Champions League. He is a perfect fit for the role.

It was a performance that included elements from a variety of genres. The young Portuguese player not only prevented any goals from being scored by keeping a clean sheet, but he also helped set up the game's first score by assisting on a penalty save. It was essentially the goalkeeper's equivalent of scoring a hat-trick with a perfect save.

Galeno still had a lot of work to do when he latched onto Costa's perfectly weighted pass in order to amplify it into an assist; however, even without the goal contribution to his name, the Porto goalkeeper demonstrated how comfortable he is with his feet by beginning moves with his distribution from the back quite frequently. This is a testament to the fact that the Porto goalkeeper is the best in the league with his feet.

The fact that Costa completed 17 long balls during the game and had a total of 54 touches on the ball shows how much trust his teammates have in his ability to play the ball. But the penalty save that he made against Kerem Demirbay was just as impressive. It was one of the four saves that he made throughout the game.

It is common knowledge that Costa's contract contains a release clause in the amount of £51 million, which would make him the third-most expensive goalkeeper in the annals of goalkeeping history if a club were to exercise it the following year. However, if he were to deliver the same level of longevity as the man he could potentially be replacing in the Old Trafford goal, then it would be a price well worth paying.

The Portuguese international, who was born in Switzerland, has already been called up to play for his country seven times, so it is clear that he is destined for greatness. If he performs well at the World Cup later this year, his reputation could even improve.

Next summer, Manchester United could lose the player who is considered to be the face of Portuguese football, but they could also sign a player who is considered to be a rising star in the country's game.