HE’S THE WORLD’S BEST, I TRUST DE GEA 100%
OLE Gunnar Solskjaer gave his unequivocal support to David De Gea as he described Manchester United’s No1 as the ‘world’s best goalkeeper’.
It was a remarkable declaration from Solskjaer, as De Gea made a mistake in a fiery 1-1 draw with Everton that led Roy Keane, who was watching in Sky’s studios, to say he would have killed the goalkeeper had he made such an error for him.
Inexplicably, De Gea waited and waited in the third minute to clear a short pass from Harry Maguire and he gave Dominic CalvertLewin — who was once again watched by England manager Gareth Southgate — the opportunity to close him down and leave the Spaniard embarrassed.
‘Arrogance,’ Keane hissed in a withering appraisal after the game.
De Gea later atoned with a last-gasp parry to thwart Gylfi Sigurdsson but he has made seven errors that have led directly to goals since the beginning of last season. Even so, Solskjaer insisted he would not swap the 29-year-old for anyone else.
‘ He went through a difficult patch last season, but he has been very, very good this season,’ said Solskjaer. ‘I can’t remember any errors that I would go to now apart from the Watford one this season. I trust David 100 per cent.’
Dean Henderson, the keeper who is on loan at Sheffield United, will return to Old Trafford for next season, but Solskjaer said: ‘We want the best possible squad for Manchester United and Dean is our player. He is doing really well at the moment and the day he comes back he is fighting to play here as well.
‘But, for me, David has shown here his reaction, the way he made amends and saved Sigurdsson’s chance at the end. David is for me the best goalkeeper in the world.
‘Dean is a very good challenger and Sergio Romero is a decent challenger also. We want a squad that is full of quality and with competition. If you want to survive at the top you need to bounce off competition right, left and centre.’
United had the better of the first h half lf but b t the th paucity it of f their th i play l in the second period would, surely, have alarmed Solskjaer, who admitted that he wouldn’t have complained vigorously had Calvert-Lewin’s injury-time goal been allowed to stand.
The one highlight, though, was the silky performance of Bruno Fernandes, who scored United’s goal and looks a fine player. It left you wondering why United didn’t move with greater speed to conclude a deal with Sporting Lisbon.
‘ I can’t look at it that way,’ Solskjaer replied, when asked if he harboured any frustrations that the business dragged on through January. ‘ You do understand Sporting wanting to keep him until the last minute as he is such an influential player for them as well. I’m very happy he is here.
‘ The reaction after Everton scored was fantastic, we scored a goal and created some chances. Then we stopped playing and second half they were better than us. It was a good game, like English football should be.’