Manchester United: Is it time to move on from David De Gea?
Manchester United have finally found some new life under Erik ten Haag. Moving slowly up the table, playing fluid football, and removing the distractions that have plagued the club for so long.
Everybody knows that there is still a long way to go for United, if they are to reach the top, but as others evolve, just like the Red Devils, is it time for them to also move on from their long time shot-stopper?
Over the past few years, the position of Goalkeeper has gone through more transitions than ever. Gone are the times when a keeper was just required to be the last line of defence between the goal and the attacker, instead, keepers are required to do much more.
A modern keeper has quite a long list of responsibilities today, and in some cases, is regarded as an 11th outfield player.
As teams have begun to increase pressing systems, defensive lines have risen further and further up the pitch. This in turn has left the keeper with more open space in front of him, space in which he is almost responsible for now. This space, has created what we now know as the ‘sweeper keeper’.
Having a mobile keeper, that can read the play well, control the space in behind and clear the danger, allows the defence to push higher and get more players into the attacking phase. Almost marked by the incredible play of Germany’s Manuel Neuer, mobile keepers are now a staple of the way top teams play.
In a lot of cases, keepers are expected to be good on the ball too. As defensive lines get higher, keepers can almost be an outfield player for periods of the game and can be required to have a strong passing range with an outfield awareness.
At Manchester United, ten Haag has begun to build a side built on basics, but one that is ready to control the ball, with pacy runs in behind and a constantly pushing backline. For United, if they can play the style of football they want, then in theory a traditional shot-stopper is less required, with a more active, skill full keeper being more beneficial.
This brings us to David de Gea, who is more of the former, a lot more traditional. The keeper tends to perform better when the team is underperforming, the more shots he has to save, the better he tends to perform. Unfortunately, when United are controlling games, is when it tends to display de Gea’s weaknesses. The keeper has struggled with playing out from the back, often misplacing passes, and being caught out under quick counters. With ten Haag wanting full control within games, this is a problem.
Though de Gea has been an excellent servant to United, can he improve his on-ball skills to the level of other top keepers? At his age that seems unlikely. So though de Gea will never be bad to have between the sticks, it appears his future days in Manchester, as United transition into their new era, are numbered.
