Former Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves has strongly suggested that Erik ten Hag needs to get rid of first-choice goalkeeper David de Gea.
The idea behind this is Ten Hag may want to implement the brand of football that was evident from his Ajax days, when the Dutchman dominated the Eredivisie. We have seen glimpses of that this season, but it feels like certain players are holding us back.
Hargreaves was speaking after United’s devastating 3-0 defeat against Sevilla in the Europa League.
Mistakes from De Gea proved costly on the night as United crashed out of Europe. Sevilla, on the other hand, were lucky to still be in the tie and I bet they couldn’t believe their luck after being gifted at least two of the three goals they scored.
De Gea has weaknesses in his game that prevent United from being able to play out from the back.
Efficiently, at least.
De Gea is out of contract at the end of the season and fans are debating whether he should be rewarded with a new contract. It is believed that he will — eventually — agree to new terms with the club, but does that mean he’ll remain the highest paid goalkeeper in the world? We know that he is isn’t going to get that money elsewhere.
At Ajax, Ten Hag had a clear preference for sweeper goalkeepers, with strong ball-playing capabilities. De Gea doesn’t fit into that profile of keeper and Hargreaves thinks the manager should do something about that this summer.
Hargreaves told BT Sport: “First of all, David de Gea has been an incredible servant for this football club. He’s been a brilliant goalkeeper and he’s a brilliant shot stopper.
“But he is not good with his feet and it showed tonight and it has showed on numerous occasions this season. We know Erik ten Hag wants to play out, he wants to get the ball down and play. The first goal came from that and so did the third to a lesser extent.”
"I think he was making the whole team nervous!"
"It's a question of: does he fit Erik ten Hag's philosophy?"
Paul Scholes and Owen Hargreaves break down David De Gea's performance vs. Sevilla and his future at Man Utd 🧤
🎙️ @julesbreach #UEL pic.twitter.com/cWZmlU5ZqS
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 20, 2023
Hargreaves added, “They are huge moments that they need to fix obviously. So the question is, does he fit Erik ten Hag’s philosophy? Based on today you would say no, it didn’t look right.”
Ten Hag has decided to back De Gea publicly but big decisions need to be made this summer.
Ten Hag on De Gea being No 1 next season + beyond: "He is the one with the most clean sheets in the Premier League, that shows he is a very capable goalkeeper." #MUFC
— Laurie Whitwell (@lauriewhitwell) April 20, 2023
Let us know in the comments section what you would do with De Gea this summer.
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INFACT IAM WITH OWEN.DAVID DE GEA LACK STREINGH & CONSISTENCY IN DERBY MATCHES