Pranav Nair
Solskjaer weighs in on De Gea vs Henderson battle ahead of Europa League final
According to Manchester Evening News, Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has opened up on the goalkeeping conundrum facing him ahead of the Europa League final.
The Norwegian goes into the final to be played on May 26 with a difficult decision to make. In Dean Henderson and David de Gea, he has two excellent goalkeepers. However, only one can make the cut for the showdown at Gdansk.
De Gea has been the club’s first-choice goalkeeper for a decade now and starred in our semifinal second leg against Roma. However, having lost his place to Henderson in recent weeks, the Spaniard cannot take his place for granted.
“I think there’s loads of difficult calls to make, the whole squad has contributed so much.”
Solskjaer has now admitted that he is yet to make a decision on who his starting goalkeeper will be. Whether the last two Premier League games will act as an audition of sorts remained to be seen.
“It’s probably a different scenario with the keepers than it’s normally been because they’ve shared I don’t know how many games, close to 60 and both of them are in and around the 30 mark and both have done really well so it will be a difficult call of course.”
Both players have contributed to our run-up to the final and deserve credit for their performances. Solskjaer is undeniably in an unenviable position as we look to end our four-year trophy drought.
Deja vu?
Solskjaer made a similar choice regarding Sergio Romero last season. The Argentine was a key part of the side that made it to the semifinals keeping seven clean sheets in nine games.
He was unceremoniously dropped for the semifinals as United crashed out of the Europa League. Romero has not played for United since.
More Manchester United News
- Manchester United reverse bans handed out to two news agencies
- Manchester United on alert regarding Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski
- Transfer News: Manchester United will need to improve their bid for Raphael Varane
Henderson has great ability but showcased his frailties in our 2-4 loss to Liverpool last week. De Gea meanwhile has experience of playing in high-pressure situations and will not be unfazed by the pressure of starting in a final.
Of the two goalkeepers, De Gea has played a more pronounced role in our run to the Europa League final. It would be fair to entrust the veteran with the duty in our first major final in years. Whether Solskjaer thinks the same remains to be seen.
