10 MORE YEARS PLEASE, DE GEA
Ole: Keeper eager to add to his trophy haul
OLE Gunnar Solskjaer has backed David De Gea to carry on as United’s No1 keeper for another 10 years.
De Gea, still just 29, will reach the landmark of 400 appearances for United when he faces Southampton tonight.
But his manager believes he has the hunger to carry on for years and not stop until he has claimed every piece of silverware at United, with the Champions League the big miss from his honours.
“David has won the Premier League, the FA Cup, Europa League and League
Cup,” said the United boss. “Not having won more is something he will feel is a black dot in his career.
“Yes he has won personal awards but I don’t think that David is the type that cares about personal awards. I think he wants the team to lift the big trophies.
“He has come out and said he wants to play for many years, maybe 10 more years. How long he is able to stay at the top is just up to him.”
De Gea has overcome wobbles in his Old Trafford career since signing from Atletico Madrid aged 20 in 2011.
There was an initial weakness at set pieces,which he conquered, and a series of high-profile blunders last season and again during this campaign.
But Solskjaer insists he never thought for one second about taking him out of the firing line and has never doubted the Spaniard’s strength of character.
“To be a United goalkeeper you have to have a strong mentality and David has that,” said Solskjaer.
“He has been here so long and you don’t get to 400 games by being afraid of the limelight or being afraid of Old Trafford. You do that by walking out on the pitch again and showing your quality and mentality. He is a strong, strong character.”
In the win over Aston Villa last week, De Gea passed Peter Schmeichel’s record of being the overseas player with the most appearances for United. The great Dane added his own tribute on the United Podcast.
“There have been trophies over the past nine years and David will want more before he’s done,” said Schmeichel, whose last match for United was the Treble-clinching Champions League final win over
Bayern Munich in 1999. “But he’d far rather pick up a few more winner’s medals than Player of the Year trophies, I’m certain.
“Nine years at Manchester United is a long time and reaching 400 appearances for the club is a huge landmark. Very few players have managed to do that, but David has got a long way still to go.
“Some of the saves he has made have been absolutely phenomenal. But he is a young lad and could play on here for another 10 years and be a big part of United’s future.”