Manchester United drew against Everton 1-1 on Sunday, with Everton’s goal coming from a David de Gea mistake. A mistake from the Spaniard used to be unheard of but since his poor showing at the 2018 World Cup, it has been a regular occurrence at United. With Goalkeeper Dean Henderson impressing while on loan – there is a question to who should be Goalkeeper at United from next season.
2018 World Cup
De Gea was in terrific form coming into the World Cup, with the 2017/18 season being his best. He pushed United to second in the Premier League table with his world-class performances throughout the campaign. He received the Premier League Golden Glove at the end of the campaign after getting 18 clean sheets.
But De Gea’s great season did not continue into the 2018 World Cup.
Against Portugal, De Gea let Cristiano Ronaldo‘s shot which was straight at him – to go through his grasp. The game ended in a draw and was the first time in a while that De Gea did the opposite of saving his side.
De Gea Since Then
Of course, De Gea’s ability has not gone and is still producing great saves and performances for the Red Devil’s.
But with 7 mistakes leading to goals since the start of the 2018/19 season, it is clear that the goalkeeper does not have the same aura he did in the previous seasons.
As well, De Gea has shown that his distribution is not to the standard that is now expected in top goalkeepers. Against Everton De Gea only completed 6 out of 17 passes, and did not find a teammate with any of his long-range passes.
Henderson Chasing The Number One Spot
While Dean Henderson, on loan at Sheffield United, is proving that he is ready to take over goalkeeper duties at Old Trafford next season.
After loans at Stockport County, Grimsby Town and Shrewsbury Town – Henderson joined Sheffield United on loan in the 2018/19 season. He helped The Blades to automatic promotion with an impressive 21 clean sheets in the league.
Henderson went back on loan this season to The Blades and has 9 Premier League clean sheets so far this campaign and is looking to help Sheffield United finish in a European place this season.
After 2 impressive seasons on loan, many think that Henderson is ready to be in between the sticks at Old Trafford.
The youngster clearly wants to play at Manchester United, recently saying:
“The big dream is to play for Manchester United one day,
I’ve always had that dream throughout my life so until that’s accomplished I’ll never think I’ve made it.
Even if I play for them once I won’t think I’ve made it I need to play for them 500 times, 300 times whatever it is then you can turnaround at the end of your career and say, ‘I made it, I did what I set out to do’.”
Although, the Englishman would not be willing to come back unless he was first choice.
Next Season
If Henderson was to come back to United next season, he’d need to be the starter. This would mean having to find De Gea a new club.
Real Madrid had strong interest in the Spaniard a couple of years ago, but instead, they bought Thibaut Courtois. Juventus or PSG could be potential buyers.
Henderson could also potentially spend an extra year with The Blades and start with United in 2022, making the 2020/21 season De Gea’s last with United.
But many would say that Henderson has shown that he is ready now. United should not let nostalgia get in the way of who deserves to start for United.
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