Man United goalkeeper David De Gea was once the star player of the side but according to pundit Tony Cascarino, the Spaniard is slowly losing his gleam.
Manchester United were held to a 3-3 draw in the Premier League this weekend and David De Gea was at fault for two of Everton’s three strikes.
The first and third goals for the Toffees were made much more simpler due to the lack of commitment from the keeper and according to Cascarino, this isn’t the first time that De Gea has been caught faltering.
He told talkSPORT: “De Gea for the first goal he’s got to do better. Third goal, you’ve got a licence as a goalkeeper.
“Sometimes you can be reckless, you can come out and charge, you’ll get protected.
“That’s what happened with [Jordan] Pickford when [Virgil] van Dijk got injured. You can spread yourself and throw yourself.
“De Gea took the option of actually being quite safe and just making the minimal amount of effort to spread his body and make it difficult.
“Look, United are going to be ruing that 3-3 draw because they were so comfortable for periods of the game. De Gea, as much as we keep going back, you’re paid a hell of a lot of money at a big football club, you do not survive playing averagely.
“And De Gea has been average for 18 months.”
Is David De Gea a redundant player for Man United?
During the 2020-21 season, David De Gea has made four errors leading to goals in the Premier League and each one of them have costed Man United dearly.
David de Gea has saved just 60.9% of shots on his goal in this season’s Premier League, only Rui Patricio (59.7%) has a lower save-percentage of all PL keepers with 15+ apps this season.
He conceded from all three shots he faced tonight. pic.twitter.com/gKkVdGAedH
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) February 6, 2021
Last campaign, Ole Solskjaer had no choice but to keep using the 30-year-old in the starting line-up since Romero was not particularly the best in the business. But this time around, things are a lot different as Ole has chosen not to send out Dean Henderson on loan and the academy graduate is now the second-choice keeper at the club.
Henderson, this season, has been playing in the cup game but if David De Gea cannot prove his worth to his manager soon enough then there’s a big chance that Dean Henderson is pushed up the pecking order even before this season comes to an end.
Man United take on West Ham United in the FA Cup 5th Round in midweek and owing to rotation, Dean Henderson should come back into the side for this one.