Ole: Dean close to ousting De Gea
DAVID DE GEA is facing the biggest fight of his career to stay Manchester United No 1 with manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer stating that reputation will not influence his decision and admitting it’s becoming ‘harder’ to leave out his rival Dean Henderson.
De Gea, 30, has been rated as one of the best goalkeepers in the world during his 10 years at Old Trafford but has looked shaky this season and was blamed for two of Everton’s goals in United’s last Premier League game which ended 3-3.
In contrast, Henderson kept a clean sheet in the midweek FA Cup win against West Ham and will hope to get the nod for today’s league match at West Bromwich when United aim to close the gap on league leaders Manchester City.
‘Everyone knows they have to perform to be in the team,’ said Solskjaer, addressing the De Gea situation. ‘We have at least two players in every position that would feel first choice and t he keeper position i s no different. It’s about your performances and what you give to the team.
‘It was a conscious decision to bring Dean back [he was on loan at Sheffield United last season] to have real competition in and he has made it harder and harder for me to leave him out because, whenever he plays, he does really well.
‘It’s not about who’s got the most trophies, it is about what you give to the team here and now.’
Ditching De Gea would still be a massive statement by Solskjaer.
The Spaniard is the only United player used this season who survives from their last title team in 2013. He signed a bumper new contract in 2019 reported to be worth £350,000 a week but mistakes have crept in more regularly since then.
‘ Of course we know here we’re in a competitive environment, we’re at Man United and we are here to win. It is about having the best possible chance to win and you need performances,’ said Solskjaer.
‘It’s not like I am going round telling them jokes and giving them games just to keep them happy. It is more their job to keep me happy and give me more reasons to pick them. That’s the way it is.’
Solskjaer thinks United and Manchester City deserve credit as the only clubs who started the season late because of their European involvement over the summer.
‘The performances of the two teams has been remarkable to catch up after such a difficult start,’ he said. ‘We lost very many points then because of the lack of preparation and pre-season.’