De Gea now has a real fight on his hands
KEEPER HAS LEFT HIMSELF VULNERABLE TO HENDERSON BID
DAVID de Gea’s place in the pantheon of great United keepers is secure. Across 394 appearances, four player of the year awards and four major trophies, the Spaniard has proven himself as one of the best in the world.
It’s easy to forget now that there were plenty of doubters during his first season at Old Trafford.
Sir Alex Ferguson had had a blindspot with goalkeepers in the past and having taken six years to find a suitable replacement for Peter Schmeichel in Edwin van der Sar, there was a feeling of deja vu as De
Gea found it difficult to adapt to the Premier League.
But United never lost faith in the youngster and they’ve been handsomely rewarded. Those Sir Matt Busby player of the year awards show how important De Gea has been, particularly since Ferguson’s retirement, when he’s almost been the glue that has bound the club together during some difficult times.
All good things must come to an end, however, and the next 12 months will be make-or-break for whether De Gea continues as United’s No. 1 or not.
At 29, he is still young for a keeper, but for the first time in his Old Trafford career, he faces serious competition for the right to be first choice.
Dean Henderson’s rise has continued in his first Premier League season, impressing on loan with Sheffield United in his second successive campaign at Bramall Lane.
For three years his trajectory has continued to impress, cruising through the divisions in loan spells and if this season hadn’t been suspended he’d be an England international as well now.
Handing him the gloves at United is also an attractive option thanks to his status as an academy graduate and, at 23, his best years are still ahead of him.
He won’t accept being a back-up keeper, so while another loan move next season might be an option, by the summer of 2021 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will have to make a definitive decision on his goalkeepers.
For the first time since his initial struggles in England, the pressure is on De Gea, with the feeling his place in the side is increasingly under threat.
Part of that is down to Henderson’s emergence, but it’s also a consequence of the Spain No. 1’s uncertain form over the previous 18 months.
If this was the same De Gea who won those player of the year awards between 2013/14 and 2017/18 then this debate would be tilted in his favour, with Henderson seen as an academy graduate who will make the club a lot of more money. Instead, De Gea’s slight drop in standards - he’s recovered this season having ended 2018/19 particularly badly has opened the door at an unfortunate time, with a successor now ready to step in. That hasn’t been the case before.
For his first three seasons Anders Lindegaard was De Gea’s deputy, a capable goalkeeper but somebody who was never going to be the first choice at Old Trafford. The decision to sign Victor Valdes
De Gea’s slight drop in standards has opened the door at an unfortunate time with a successor ready to step in