Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has hit back at criticisms of goalkeeper David de Gea, revealing that he won’t be dropping the Spaniard any time soon despite a run of poor form.
The United no.1 had a question mark over his future coming into the new season, with his contract due to run out this summer and the shot-stopper not as good with his feet as many felt that Ten Hag would want in a goalkeeper.
His performances appeared to stabilise in mid-season, but a series of high profile mistakes have thrust him firmly back into the limelight, most notably his recent error that saw his side fall to a 1-0 defeat to West Ham, where he failed to save a simple enough long range effort from Said Benrahma.
The result opened the door for Liverpool to potentially steal a top four spot, which had seemed like it was Manchester United’s for much of the season, and potentially also the Champions League football next season that comes with it.
United need to take nine points from their final four games to ensure that this doesn’t happen, and mistakes from De Gea could prove costly.
David de Gea will not want to see this one again! 🫣
Saïd Benrahma is gifted the opener of the game pic.twitter.com/5YOORsFsQ4
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) May 7, 2023
Despite this, Ten Hag has reinforced his belief in the Spaniard as his no.1 for the last four games of the season.
Perhaps understandable given that the current backup, Jack Butland, is yet to make his Premier League debut for the club, what is more surprising is the news that a new contract is edging closer for De Gea, which will see him remain among the highest paid players at the club despite potentially being replaced this summer.
Until then, United will have to hope that he can put his error prone nature to one side, at least until the summer.
