It has been a helluva ride, but David de Gea’s pain in Spain proved once and for all that the Manchester United goalkeeper’s time at the top of the modern-day game is done, and as painful a decision as it may be, it is time to move on the man who has kept his fallen side afloat for so long.
As all else crumbled around him, De Gea has stood firm for over a decade to stop the rot setting in completely at Old Trafford in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson apocalypse.
Now, with the club in better shape further up the field, clubs are targeting his weakness, and instead of saving his team week in and week out, the Spaniard is costing United points and a shot at trophies.
Erik ten Hag had more pressing matters to solve initially, and De Gea’s inferiority with the ball at his feet compared to his fellow top-level goalkeepers could be revisited at a later date. With several to-do list tasks ticked off, that time has come, and there is only one panacea the Dutchman should be considering.
Jacob Murphy admitted Newcastle’s game plan revolved around putting pressure on De Gea, to great success, in their victory over United last month. Sevilla pressed unusually high by their standards in the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium on Thursday night, with the results even more devastating.
In the previous decade of decline, as De Gea bailed out United time and again with his unerring shot-stopping ability – he still remains one of the best in the business in this regard – there have been plenty of other areas of weakness for opponents to exploit when pitted against United.
Casemiro has finally filled the gaping void in midfield left by Roy Keane, Christian Eriksen sprays the ball around from deep better than anymore since Paul Scholes left, while Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez complement each other as well as Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic ever did at the heart of the backline.
While United are far from reaching their zenith – their overall ineptitude was clear for all to see in Seville – their areas of susceptibility, when everyone is fit, are less obvious. Apart from one. United have committed five errors leading to a goal in all competitions this season. De Gea is responsible for three for of them.
A terrible night for Man Utd only gets worse…
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 20, 2023
David De Gea will not want to watch this game back#UEL pic.twitter.com/z9iiPlCDZE
“He’s the one with the most clean sheets in the Premier League, that shows he’s a very capable goalkeeper,” Ten Hag protested after the match in Andalusia. A coach keen to protect his burgeoning reputation will know, deep down, this is not enough today.
The problem De Gea has is there is a replacement ready and waiting. Brentford’s David Raya has completed the most passes of any goalkeeper in the Premier League, all while making the most saves and possessing the best save percentage among his fellow top-flight stoppers. Stats that are impossible to ignore.
Thanks David, but the revolution at Old Trafford must go on without you.
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