David de Gea to remain on bench for Europa League final

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has confirmed that he intends to start Sergio Romero in goal for the Europa League final showdown with Ajax later this month.

The Argentina international has appeared in 11 of the Red Devils' 14 European matches so far this term, including both legs of the semi-final meeting against Celta Vigo.

Having also started all six previous knockout-round fixtures, Mourinho sees no reason to change keeper for the Stockholm final on May 24, meaning that David de Gea will watch on from the bench.

"There is no dilemma. They are two fantastic goalkeepers," he told reporters. "I never saw, in all my career, two goalkeepers who are such friends because it's a position where you always have a little bit of rivalry, especially if they are both at the same kind of level.

"We are speaking about Argentina's national goalkeeper and Spain's national goalkeeper but they are such friends and support each other all the time. I have never seen a bad face. I have always seen them supporting each other.

"I think it's fair Sergio is going to play in the final and David accepts that, especially because David has played three Europa League matches already - two against Fenerbahce and one against Feyenoord - and so if we win the trophy, David wins the trophy too. If everything goes normally, and we have no problems, Sergio plays in the final."

Romero has featured 26 times for United in all competitions since joining from Sampdoria in 2015, with more than half of those appearances coming in Europe.