Manchester United: The Deep Fall of David de Gea

David de Gea is the best goalkeeper in the world, said Manchester United coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer just recently. If that were the case, the Norwegian would not have to say it. But the reality is different: the Spaniard has mutated to a security risk with the English record champions (20 titles).

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In recent years De Gea has been the only one at ManUtd to have earned the World Class rating. He was voted Player of the Year four times by the club. With his spectacular parades, he often saved the «Red Devils» from an even deeper fall. And it seemed like he was too good for a club that hadn’t been able to intervene in the championship race since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013. In 2015, a fax breakdown at the last minute prevented his transfer to Real Madrid.

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“He has to hold it 100 out of 100 times”

Meanwhile, some in Manchester wished that offers for the keeper would flutter again. Because De Gea “is no longer recognizable,” said ex-ManUtd defender and women-Nati coach Phil Neville after the 1-3 defeat in Sunday’s cup semi-final against Chelsea. The 29-year-old had looked bad three times and even flopped 2-0 at Mason Mounts. “He has to hold it 100 times out of 100,” says Solskjaer himself.

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“DeSaster”, headlined the “Daily Express”, “Now await the Spanish Inquisition”, the “Mirror” or “Doubts about De Gea’s future after the horror show”, the “Daily Mail”.

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It can always happen that a goalie has a bad day. But De Gea has not played at the usual level for months – although ManUtd, revived by the Portuguese Bruno Fernandes, had not lost 19 games before the Cup knockout. De Gea still manages to make spectacular parades, but you never know if he will let a seemingly harmless shot flow through. In addition, he still has major deficiencies in the control of the penalty area.

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ManUtd legend Roy Keane had already folded it up in the 1-1 draw against Tottenham. He would no longer have let the Spaniard and defense chief Harry Maguire on the bus and let him drive back in the taxi, the Irishman railed as a TV expert. “De Gea is the most overrated goalkeeper I’ve seen in a long, long time.”

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Fed up after contract worth millions?

His critics have accused De Gea of frugality since he gambled on a contract extension until 2024, which made him the highest-paid goalkeeper with a net annual salary of CHF 14.2 million.

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Solskjaer is bombarded with the question of how long he will continue to watch. And there is an alternative: The Englishman Dean Henderson (23), who was able to distinguish himself on loan from Sheffield United over the two years and could now be brought back to make De Gea legs or even push him onto the bench.

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