Tag Archives: David De Gea

Football, Opinion

It’s time for Dean Henderson’s chance as Manchester United number one

2 Comments

As Manchester United dropped further behind in the title race following another poor home result, it has resurrected a discussion from the start of the season.

The Reds gave up a 2-0 and 3-1 lead at Old Trafford to draw with Everton over the weekend, with errors from David De Gea and Harry Maguire called out as the reasons for the result.

Abdoulaye Doucoure’s goal came as Dominic Calvert-Lewin raced clear of Maguire and then poked an effort across goal. Instead of catching the ball, De Gea slapped the ball straight into the path of the former Watford man and momentum swung in the Toffees favour.

Then in the 95th minute, a free-kick was floated in by Lucas Digne and Maguire decided to play everyone onside. The ball bounced through to Calvert-Lewin and with De Gea glued to his line he was able to poke the ball into the Old Trafford net.

The Spaniard conceded three goals as Everton had just three shots on target, to follow on from his error against Sheffield United in the recent defeat too.

De Gea’s season started relatively well, despite some dodgy results for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men. Most of the goals conceded didn’t really give him much of a chance of saving them, but some games caused some concern.

The Spaniard has slowly been declining for the past three years from his insanely high level before that. His reflexes are not what they once were, his command of his box hasn’t improved since he first signed for the club and his distribution seems to make those around him panic more than it settles them.

While Dean Henderson has had his own problems in games this season, his potential is clear to see. His performances last season for Sheffield United played a huge part in their fantastic debut season in the Premier League, as you can see from their league standing currently without him.

The truth is that nobody knows right now if Henderson is good enough to be United’s long-term number one. We don’t even know if he is definitely better than De Gea. But the facts are that we do know that De Gea is no longer good enough to be first choice at Old Trafford.

Solskjaer may need to make a decision on using Henderson between now and the end of the campaign to decipher whether or not he is ready going forward. He signed a new deal in the summer to compete, so let him compete. Depending on his performances, a new goalkeeper could be needed in the summer.

With AC Milan’s young goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma’s contract expiring at the end of the season, the Reds could do a lot worse than keeping an eye on his situation and looking to bring him in on a free transfer should it be determined an upgrade is required.

We saw Henderson perform to a consistently high standard for Sheffield United, a more consistent run in the team with better defenders in a team where he should theoretically have less to do will likely lead to better performances.

He deserves his chance of a run in the team now, with De Gea’s form proving costly to the teams ambitions of a title run. He’s not the sole reason and nobody is stating he is, but the fact is that right now the easiest change to a struggling defence is to change the goalkeeper because the gap in quality and reliability between them isn’t that big.

Henderson’s chance to shine and stake his claim is now, it’s just whether Solskjaer will make the big call or not.

phil foden the best english prospect since wayne rooney as city win again
Football, Opinion

Dean Henderson Signs New Manchester United Deal To Compete With David De Gea

3 Comments

Dean Henderson has signed a new five-year contract with Manchester United, with the option of a further year to stay at the club and compete with David De Gea as the No.1 goalkeeper at the club.

Henderson has spent the last two seasons on loan at Sheffield United, helping them get promotion to the Premier League before keeping 13 clean sheets in the top division last year as they secured a top half finish at the first attempt.

There was interest from Chelsea and Sheffield United about a potential permanent deal, but the Carrington graduate had made it clear that he wants to be the No.1 at Manchester United and refused to leave on a permanent deal.

The new deal keeps him at Old Trafford until 2025, with an option for an extra year essentially making it a six-year contract for the 23 year old. Reports suggest the deal is worth around £120,000 per-week which would put him among the highest paid goalkeepers in the league.

Despite that, Henderson will be competing with David De Gea for the starting spot in Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s side next season if he ends up staying at the club beyond the transfer window. According the Manchester Evening News the club and player have different ideas on the coming season, with the club believing a loan would be the best option while Henderson himself wants to stay and play.

With David De Gea still having three years to run on his £275,000 per-week deal, he is expected to start the season as the No.1 choice but if Henderson remains at the club then he will be facing real competition for the jersey for the first time in his United career.

It’s believed that United would like to loan Henderson out to a club playing European football, potentially abroad, so that he can continue to play regularly and then potentially replace De Gea next year. However having been called up to the England squad, he believes that he is ready now and is happy to provide competition for places.

It seems like a win-win situation at the moment for Manchester United. As it stands, De Gea is the better goalkeeper despite his recent errors and dips in form. He is more experienced and a better shot stopper, plus he is used to all the limelight and criticism that comes with the role. While Henderson can’t get that without being in that position, it’s something that doesn’t need to be thrust upon him right now on top of the attention that would come with displacing a club legend like De Gea.

A loan would suit all parties, as Henderson would play and likely keep his role in the England side with Euro 2020 coming up next summer while United know they have him tied down for the foreseeable future. He could then return next summer with a year of European experience added to his career and really compete while United consider whether De Gea is really done at this level or whether it was just a blip.

Staying shows real character and gives De Gea a kick up the backside. Solskjær will know he has a top goalkeeper waiting in the wings to replace De Gea for any mistakes that occur and it will only boost the level at the club.

It’s a win-win for all parties no matter what happens from here on out but the only thing guaranteed is that Dean Henderson is a Red for a while longer yet.

jack grealish’s england squad omission continues to baffle
Football, Opinion

Manchester United’s Goalkeeper Dilemma

7 Comments

As the 2019/20 season begins to wind down following a long, tumultuous period, eyes are beginning to stray into the next campaign.

Chelsea have already signed Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech to boost their squad for the new season, Liverpool are reportedly plotting a move for Thiago Alcantara from Bayern, Manchester City have acknowledged that they need to spend to reinvigorate their squad and challenge Liverpool next year.

Manchester United have been linked with several players for the new season, with Jadon Sancho, Donny Van de Beek and Jude Bellingham among the names. But they’ve got internal decisions to make too.

The big one on everyone’s mind – does Dean Henderson make a return to Old Trafford and oust David De Gea as the No.1 goalkeeper?

De Gea has been United’s No.1 since he signed way back in the summer of 2011 from Atletico Madrid. After a bumpy start, the Spaniard has grown into the role and at one point in time was undoubtedly the best in the world. He won the Sir Matt Busby Award (Fan’s Player of the Year) a record four-times, including three in a row and also won the Player’s Player of the Year award three times. Had it not been for De Gea, the Red Devils’ fall from grace following Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement would have been much, much worse.

Despite that though, he has struggled for the last 18 months. He’s made countless uncharacteristic errors and cost Manchester United points. Some fans would even go as far as to say that he’s the reason they didn’t get Top 4 last year. Even this year, according to the official Premier League website, De Gea has made 3 errors leading to goals – only Newcastle’s Martin Dubravka has made more. While it won’t count towards his numbers, his latest error against Tottenham arguably cost his side two points in the hunt for Top 4.

On the other hand, Dean Henderson has been flourishing for Sheffield United. In his second season-long loan at Bramall Lane, Henderson has turned in performance after performance as the Blades have shocked everyone and found themselves in a race for European places in their first season back in the Premier League.

Dean Henderson Signs a New Contract at Manchester United : News Photo
Dean Henderson signed a new contract with Man Utd before going out on loan to Sheffield United

Henderson has kept 11 clean sheets in the league this season, bettered only by Burnley’s Nick Pope and Alisson Becker of Liverpool. De Gea by comparison has kept 9.

Former goalkeeping-coach at Manchester United Eric Steele has spoken about the situation and offered some expert insight. He said:

“I used to have a quote on all my walls, wherever I was coach. A printout, laminated – ‘When you do it right, no one remembers. When you do it wrong, no one forgets’. [It’s] goalkeeper law. Number one rule.“

This is certainly something to consider when making this decision. Henderson is used to being under constant pressure and has still made mistakes, including against Liverpool earlier in the season and for England U21’s during the European Championships in 2019.

At 23 years old, Henderson is still developing and still has the best part of 10-12 years at the top of the game ahead of him. It’s come to light that he’s currently earning £70,000 p/w at Old Trafford after signing a new contract before going out on loan and United are not against re-entering talks over another new deal. He still has another two years on his contract, plus Manchester United have the option to extend that for a further year. There is absolutely no rush for United to rush him in while De Gea is still in his prime, despite the dip over the last 18 months.

If I were United, I’d let Henderson go on loan again next year. David De Gea has three years left on his current deal plus the option for the club to extend, so if they were to sell him the value would still be there. With the Spaniard aware he has real competition for his shirt, it may fire him up to perform as well as we all know he can. If it doesn’t, United can pull the trigger knowing that Henderson has had an extra year of regular first-team football and that De Gea’s form is no longer just a blip.

Achraf hakimi close to inter milan move – why?
Football, Opinion

Roy Keane slaughters David De Gea and Harry Maguire for errors in Spurs draw

Leave a comment

Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane has never been one to bite his tongue.

Known for his no-nonsense approach and brashness, Keane was a pundit for Sky Sports during the game between Tottenham and Manchester United on Friday night. The game finished 1-1, with Steven Bergwijn and Bruno Fernandes on the scoresheet in either half, but Keane was absolutely furious at half-time.

For Tottenham’s opener, Bergwijn collected the ball on the half-way line and dribbled straight through the heart of the Manchester United defence – including captain Harry Maguire – before firing a strike at David De Gea. The Spaniard should have saved the shot but instead just parried it into the roof of the net. Keane was visibly angry at what he’d watched, and let loose in the studio.

“I’m shocked. I’ve seen a lot of football over the years, but to give away that goal, I’m fuming watching this game of football. I can’t believe Man United, I can’t believe [Luke] Shaw heading the ball up in the air and running forwards.

“I am staggered at Maguire, staggered at how an international player can get done like this. And the goalkeeper, I’m sick to death of this goalkeeper, I’d be fighting him at half-time, there’s no getting away from that, I would be swinging punches at that guy. This is a standard save for an established international goalkeeper. I am flabbergasted. There’s got to be some stuff going on at half-time.

“Maguire, and De Gea, I wouldn’t let them on the bus after the match. These are established international players and we’re all sitting here, I know we’re here to analyse the game, we can analyse it till the cows come home. You do your job, we’re on about just getting in the top four, God forbid winning trophies. Shocking. I’m disgusted by it. De Gea, Maguire, hang your heads in shame.”

Keane was famously sacked by Manchester United after an interview on in-house club channel MUTV, where he publicly slated some of the young players in the squad for their performances and not being good enough.

While the former Republic of Ireland captain clearly went a bit over-the-top with his rant, a lot of the points he made are completely true and valid. The fans have said for a while now that David De Gea hasn’t been up to the standard and many were confused when the club renewed his contract to make him the highest-paid goalkeeper of all-time. With that said though, De Gea may be due some slack. The Spaniard literally carried United for a number of years post-Fergie and even won the Player of the Year award an unprecedented four times. He’s due some serious competition in the summer with Dean Henderson set to return to the club on loan and many fans are ready for the torch to be passed on to the English academy graduate.

As for Maguire, it’s a similar story any time he comes up against some genuine pace. He has the turning circle of a fire-truck but with his ball-playing attributes he tends to find himself caught out high up the pitch regularly. A possible remedy for it would be to play a quicker defender alongside him, which could see Eric Bailly or Axel Tuanzebe replace Victor Lindelof to help ease that issue. That said, Manchester United would need to see a crazy improvement from Maguire to ever feel that the £80 million they paid Leicester last summer was justified.

Same old problems for spurs and man utd after 1-1 draw