Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea is into the final year of his contract and although the club have the option to extend his stay by a year, there is a chance that manager Erik ten Hag could look to ship out him out at the end of the current season.
Man United have won four and lost three this season, conceding nine goals and keeping two clean sheets. De Dea has played in all seven games and he is to retain his spot for United’s encounter with Sheriff Tiraspol in the UEFA Europa League, after joining Ten Hag at the pre-match press conference in Moldova.
Despite his excellent shot-stopping nature it is no secret the Spaniard is not the most comfortable with ball at feet, and it remains to be seen whether he features in the long-term plans of Ten Hag. United boss is keen for his side to increasingly play out from the back and question marks remain over De Gea’s suitability as the best fit in between the sticks for the Red Devils.
The 31-year-old typically stays rooted to his goal line as opposed to venturing out of his area and he is subject to the occasional goalkeeping blunder, as seen with the opening goal in the 4-0 defeat at Brentford last month when Josh Dasilva’s mid-range shot went straight under De Gea.
(Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)
Martin Dúbravka has been signed, on loan, to provide De Gea with firm competition in goal. Meanwhile, Dean Henderson was sent out on loan to Nottingham Forest where the 25-year-old is receiving regular minutes in a bid to go to the upcoming FIFA World Cup with England and, beyond that, become United’s starting keeper from next season.
De Gea is now into his 12th season as a United player having joined from boyhood club Atlético Madrid in 2011, filling the massive boots of the retired Edwin van der Sar. Aged 20 when moving away from his home town De Gea was thrown straight into the thick of things and he had an uneasy transition to life at United, conceding more than a goal per game (47 goals in 39 appearances, all competitions) during his first season at the club.
De Gea earned his international debut in June 2014 ahead of his fourth season at United, which became the first in which he conceded fewer than a goal per game (36 in 37), and the following campaign he kept 15 clean sheets in the Premier League for the first time. In 2017/18 he recorded his strongest return at United both in terms of clean sheets (18) and goals conceded per league game (0,76).
The Red Devils goalkeeper won the Premier League Golden Glove in 2018 and his market value peaked around €70million. Present day, his value is at €15million – the lowest throughout his decade-plus in Manchester.
2018/19 was one of his worst in numbers as United leaked 54 goals in the league and managed just seven clean sheets, with De Gea playing all 38 games. The most recently concluded season brought new lows for De Gea and United as they let in 57 goals for the first time in Premier League history, an average of 1,5 goals per game.
In his 383 Premier League games to date, De Gea has conceded 403 goals (1,07 per game), made 1074 saves (2,8 per game), and kept 133 clean sheets – equivalent to 34 per cent of matches.
He has saved a lowly seven out of the 46 penalties he has faced in-game for United, a dismal 15 per cent success rate. On top of that he failed to intercept all 11 spot-kicks and went on to see his own effort saved by Geronimo Rulli for Villarreal to win the shootout in the Europa League final last year. Henderson has kept out three out of four penalties faced in the Premier League, including two this season denying Harry Kane and Declan Rice.
(Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images)
The timing of De Gea’s last contract renewal in 2019 raised more than a few eyebrows after he produced his worst return for United at that point. He put pen to paper on a new four-year deal, with the option of a further year, making him the highest paid goalkeeper in world football. His £375,000 wage sees the Spain keeper earn roughly £100,000 more per week than any other goalie in the world, and among United’s current squad only Cristiano Ronaldo has a higher salary.
He previously signed a new contract in 2015 after a proposed move to Real Madrid was denied by a malfunctioning fax machine. Speaking to The Athletic during United’s recent pre-season tour of Australia, De Gea commented on his future at the club: “I didn’t talk with anyone yet but of course, I would be really happy to be here for as long as they want. I want to be here for more years.”
When asked about spending the remainder of his playing career at Old Trafford, De Gea said: “Yeah, if it’s possible, of course. If they let me stay here I will stay here, for sure. I’m really comfortable, really happy, and hopefully before I leave we can win something.”
De Gea is a four-time recipient of the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award having claimed the accolade in three successive seasons between 2014 and 2016, and no player in the club’s history has scooped the prize more times than he.
🏆 2013/14
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) June 30, 2021
🏆 2014/15
🏆 2015/16
🏆 2017/18
❤️ @D_DeGea: a record four-time winner of our Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award.#MUFC pic.twitter.com/kfa1hSTYTC
With a total 494 outings for United, De Gea sits 11th in the club’s all-time appearance list and he is on course to break into the top 10 in the coming months. Alex Stepney is the only goalkeeper to have played more times for United, with De Gea some 45 shy of Stepney’s 539 club appearances.
Ryan Giggs (632), Paul Scholes (499), Gary Neville (400), and Wayne Rooney (393) are the only players with more Premier League appearances for United than De Gea’s 383.
He has earned 45 caps for Spain but has not appeared for his national team since October 2020. With the FIFA World Cup on the horizon there remain doubts over whether De Gea will be included in Luis Enrique’s squad heading to Qatar in November.
There are mixed feelings amongst supporters as to whether De Gea is worth keeping around beyond June 2023 and the 31-year-old has until then to prove to Ten Hag he has what it takes to adapt to the new-look United.
