Why Manchester United fans need to stop disrespecting David de Gea
By Varun Aithal
There are lots of rumors making their rounds on social media regarding David de Gea and a Manchester United exit.
According to reports, the Spaniard is set to leave Old Trafford in the upcoming summer transfer window to make space for Dean Henderson, who is said to become United’s first-choice stopper.
On top of these rumors, the fanbase has been split in two about the situation since Henderson has taken over in the absence of David de Gea.
In particular, few want the club to sell the 30-year-old while others feel it is too early to let go of him.
However, it seems impossible to sell him during the pandemic struck market with de Gea on a £350,000-a-week salary.
"De Gea, 30, is set to become surplus to requirements as manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer puts his faith in Dean Henderson as his No.1.(Via: Mirror)"
David de Gea has spent a decade with Manchester United
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Sir Alex Ferguson signed the goalkeeper from Atletico Madrid for a fee of €25 million in the 2011 summer window.
The player has served the club for a decade and has performed for every penny that the club had paid for the Spaniard, barring the odd slip-up.
Since his move to England, the player has featured in 337 games and has 916 saves to his name. He is the only player apart from Phil Jones in the squad who won the last Premier League title in 2012/13.
What makes the player different is that he has never resented the club’s poor performances.
For almost seven seasons the player spent his prime playing in a defense consisting of Phil Jones and Chris Smalling.
Put some respect on David de Gea’s name!
Also, the Spaniard didn’t let his form suffer because of the fax-machine fiasco that happened in the summer transfer window of 2015/16.
If the deal had materialized, the Spanish international would have had three Champions League titles to his name by now.
Real Madrid have won the Champions League on three occasions in the time frame he was supposed to make the switch to the Spanish capital.
David has four Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year awards in the post Fergie era. Also, he was named in the FIFA FIFPro World 11 in 2018 after his commendable job between the sticks under Jose Mourinho.
In the 2017/18 season, Manchester United finish in the top four thanks to his fine form. Nobody can forget his 14 saves against Arsenal in that season when he won the deserving Golden Glove accolade.
These awards are hard to come by in the absence of a solid defense. He played behind Phil Jones and Smalling when he had the chance to feature behind the likes of Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane.
Is Dean Henderson the perfect deputy to replace David de Gea?
It is evident that Dean Henderson is more vocal and provides his defenders with confidence. Also, he has a far more superior save versus conceding ratio compared to David de Gea.
The player has conceded a goal every 146 minutes whereas David de Gea has conceded every 73 minutes. The numbers have gone down for de Gea over the course of 10 years but this shouldn’t change the fact that the 30-year-old is a legend at the club already.
In a club as huge as Manchester United, no player owns their spot. He has to handle the pressure and make the spot his own.
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Despite de Gea committing blunders and howlers in some important fixtures, he still deserves a chance to prove himself on the bigger stage.