Erik ten Hag refuses to guarantee David de Gea will remain as Manchester United’s number one goalkeeper next season.
Erik ten Hag has refused to guarantee David de Gea will remain as Manchester United‘s number one goalkeeper next season.
The 32-year-old is due to see his current contract at Old Trafford expire at the end of next month, but he is set to put pen to paper on a new deal, taking a significant wage cut in the process.
De Gea made a total of 57 appearances for the Red Devils across all competitions in the 2022-23 campaign, and he won the Premier League Golden Glove award after keeping 17 clean sheets in 38 games.
However, the Spaniard has received plenty of criticism for making a series of costly errors throughout the season, most notably against Sevilla in the Europa League quarter-finals and West Ham United in the Premier League.
De Gea has made a total of 17 errors leading to goals during his Premier League career, while only Everton’s Jordan Pickford (13) has made more top-flight mistakes than Man United’s number one (11) since 2018.
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Ten Hag has insisted that he is keen to keep hold of De Gea, but he has warned the Spaniard that retaining the number one jersey is not a given ahead of next season.
Speaking to The Times, Ten Hag said: “I will not say he’ll always be my No.1, because in a club like Manchester United there must be competition in all positions.
“You can’t do it with 11 players. It is impossible. You need double positions.”
A modern-day necessity for goalkeepers is to be confident in possession with the ball at their feet, and Ten Hag has encouraged De Gea to improve his footwork on the ball having come under fire in recent seasons.
“It’s not what I want [top footwork], it’s more what top football demands nowadays,” the Red Devils boss added.
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“If you observe teams, you have to be capable of playing from the back and use your keeper as a plus one. Otherwise it’s simple for opponents to put you under pressure.
“He [De Gea] had to step up. In a number of games, he showed progression.”
De Gea has spent the last 12 years at Old Trafford and has made over 500 appearances across all tournaments, winning the Premier League, Europa League, FA Cup, two EFL Cups and three Community Shields.
While De Gea is set to stay at Man United, the future of Dean Henderson remains uncertain, with the 26-year-old due to return to Old Trafford this summer following his season-long loan spell at Nottingham Forest.
Back-up shot-stopper Tom Heaton will see his contract expire next month, while it remains to be seen whether Jack Butland – on loan from Crystal Palace – will move to Old Trafford on a permanent basis.
Man United have been linked with a number of goalkeepers in recent months, including Brentford‘s David Raya, Aston Villa‘s Emiliano Martinez, Borussia Dortmund‘s Gregor Kobel and Anderlecht‘s Bart Verbruggen.
