Rio Ferdinand questions whether David de Gea has a future at Manchester United after another howler
Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand asks whether goalkeeper David de Gea is good enough to play for this club after a howler against West Ham United.
The Hammers beat the Red Devils 1-0 to secure their safety in the Premier League and put immense pressure on Erik ten Hag’s men in their bid to secure Champions League football for next season.
The winning goal was scored by Said Benrahma from a harmless attempt that should have been comfortably picked up by de Gea. Instead, the Spaniard somehow contrived to muddle himself and allow the ball to go into the back of the net. Even a Sunday League keeper saves that.
De Gea has been iffy when asked to play out from the back. We have seen him give goals away from terrible ball distributions. Keeping that in mind, here’s Ferdinand questioning the future of the 32-year-old at Old Trafford (h/t BBC):
“The question mark about him I think is whether he’s good enough with his feet to play the Erik ten Hag way. In terms of shot-stopping he’s made a mistake today but that’s not the area I question him. Is he a good enough footballer to play for Manchester United?
“The only person that can answer that is Erik ten Hag and we’ll know at the end of this season.”
Rio is right here, while David de Gea handed a goal to West Ham through his horrible glove work, it is an area of the game where the Spaniard has more than enough credit in his bank.
However, his kicking and passing out from the back have never exuded precision or confidence. Even against the Hammers, some of his kicking was wayward.
The 32-year-old’s contract expires this summer, with an option to extend that by a year (Transfermarkt). Does Erik ten Hag want to continue with him in goal next season onward? We doubt so.
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Coming back to the game, the defeat has meant that Liverpool are now only one point behind United, with the latter playing one game less. The cushion they had at the start of last week is gone now. Ten Hag’s men must win three of the remaining four games to secure a spot in the top four. All of a sudden, the pressure is ramped up!
