Manchester United have reportedly decided to stick with David de Gea as their number one goalkeeper for this season despite the Spaniard’s error-strewn performance against Brentford on matchday two.
According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, the club accept that this summer’s transfer window is not the “ideal market” in which to look for a new goalkeeper, so have decided to keep faith in the 31-year-old.
Manchester United Not Intending to Replace David de Gea This Summer
Dean Henderson Has Left on Loan to Join Nottingham Forest
Pointing the finger of blame squarely at the goalkeeper is of course unfair given the collective embarrassment put together by Manchester United in their 4-0 mauling by Brentford this weekend.
However, the nature of de Gea’s mistakes have led many to question whether the club’s long-serving shot-stopper is capable of adapting to the demands of new manager Erik ten Hag.
Ten Hag wants his players to play the ball out from the back more frequently than they have been doing in recent years. However, de Gea’s attempts at doing so led to the second goal his team conceded against Brentford, following a now-familiar technical and handling error that enabled the first to slip underneath him.
England interational Dean Henderson is unquestionably the finer passer of the ball. However, the 25-year-old left to join Nottingham Forest on loan this summer without even speaking to ten Hag, and described United’s treatment of him as “criminal” after his exit.
Further Issues for Erik ten Hag to Fix Before Liverpool Visit
It is widely accepted that Erik ten Hag is not the guilty party when it comes to his team’s start to the season. However, the Dutchman must focus on fixing the issues that are within his control to prevent further embarrassing losses from coming thick and fast, starting with Liverpool‘s upcoming trip to Old Trafford in the league.
To begin with, there is the quesion of what to do with Lisandro Martinez, after the defender’s physical shortcomings were exposed badly by Brentford’s attack.
Ten Hag may decide now is already the time to consign his expensive new signing to a place on the bench, having withdrawn Martinez for Raphael Varane at half-time in defeat by the Bees.
Alternatively, he could opt to revert to a three-man central defence with the aim of limiting the number of arial duels Martinez would have to face moving forwards. Doing so would mean bringing Varane into the fold from the start, alongside Martinez and Harry Maguire.
Ten Hag has also raised eyebrows with his use of Christian Eriksen in his team so far. The former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder was utilised in a false nine experiment that failed against Brighton on the opening day, before being played too deep against Brentford in a position that nullified his creative powers and required too much defensive responsibility.
Two games in have yielded two shocking defeats, and ten Hag already has much to ponder.
