MY ACCOUNT
After yet another costly error for Manchester United, David de Gea’s future at the club looks to be in the balance.
The Spaniard was beaten by West Ham forward Said Benrahma’s weak effort to consign the Red Devils to a second successive 1-0 defeat at the London Stadium on Sunday, denting their hopes of a top-four finish.
After more than a decade between the sticks at Old Trafford, we assess whether it is time for United to replace their current No1.
Catalogue of errors
De Gea’s slip-up against the Hammers was the latest of a number of high-profile clangers.
The 32-year-old has now made four errors leading to a goal in all competitions this term — the most of any Premier League keeper alongside Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris.
The first and second came during a disastrous 4-0 defeat at Brentford last August, before a nightmare showing as United crashed out of the Europa League at the hands of Sevilla last month.
Of course, the 45-cap international has been no stranger to a howler in previous seasons either.
Contract talks
The latest blunder came against the backdrop of ongoing contract talks, with De Gea’s current deal expiring this summer.
Former Premier League striker Peter Crouch feels the ex-Atletico Madrid stopper’s showing in East London is hardly going to help his cause at the negotiating table.
Crouch said: “If he’s in contract negotiations, making mistakes like that is never going to help.
“He’s been a top-class goalkeeper over the years but at the moment it feels like he’s making big errors in big, big games.
“David de Gea has had a shocker, we can’t dress it up. You can’t justify it at all, it’s a terrible mistake.”
While the Red Devils look set to press ahead with talks, recent reports suggest De Gea has been given no assurances he will keep his first-team spot next term.
Ten Hag support
Publicly at least, Erik ten Hag has been unwavering in his support for the beleaguered keeper.
While his mistakes have captured the headlines, De Gea has also marshalled a defence that has the most Premier League clean sheets (15).
The Dutch boss said: “Mistakes are part of football and in this team you have to deal with it and bounce back because it is a team sport.
“Over the season, he is the one with the most clean sheets and also we did it as a team. It can happen, it’s football but everybody has to take responsibility.”
Tactical shift
Taking mistakes out of the equation, questions remain over De Gea’s suitability to Ten Hag’s tactics.
The ex-Ajax coach wants his side to play out from the back, something that the Madrid-born ace would not class as one of his best attributes.
He ranks just 13th among Premier League keepers this season for passing accuracy (68.5%), some way off the likes of Manchester City’s Ederson (87.5%).
De Gea’s lack of confidence with his feet was evident in the defeat at Brighton last week as he completed just 19 of 39 passes and it is an issue Ten Hag surely cannot ignore.
Decision time
De Gea may well extend his 12-year stay with the Red Devils but that seems unlikely to stop their search for another man between the sticks.
Bees custodian David Raya, Porto’s Diogo Costa and Valencia star Giorgi Mamardashvili — all of whom excel with their feet — have been recently linked.
But all those options are not without their risk given their lack of experience at a club of United’s stature.
De Gea’s final contribution could be to help a new No1 take centre stage at the Theatre of Dreams — whoever that may be.
