United ask De Gea not to sign elsewhere... despite not renewing him

Manchester United's goalkeeper continues to be without a home, at least for now. David De Gea's contract expired on June 30th, as he did not manage to negotiate an extension with the Red Devils before then.
However, it appears the Manchester outfit remain hopeful they can get him to stay, effectively resigning for the same club, as, according to 'Sky Sports', the club board have asked the Spaniard not to sign with another club, despite his status as a free agent.
The motive behind this request appears to be that the club is attempting to hash out the arrival of a possible replacement, Inter Milan's Andre Onana. Inter's financial demands so far have been too high and United would not be willing to meet such sums, but there are reports that the two sides remain in talks, as United try to negotiate.
The club make the request after a long process of negotiations with the Spanish veteran, who has spent 12 seasons with United, and had agreed to take a pay cut on his £375,000-a-week wages, before the club backed out on that deal and tried to change the framework of the contract, causing the ensuing stalemate.