Football News

Man Utd urged to think carefully before renewing David De Gea deal after ‘keeper’s “average form”

By CJ Smith

Published: 16:18, 11 September 2019

Manchester United have a “decision” to make regarding David de Gea’s future, according to Mark Schwarzer.

The Spaniard has been a mainstay between the sticks since joining the Red Devils in 2012, winning four major honours with the club.

Could Man Utd sell De Gea? Five key things to know…

  • De Gea has more appearances in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year (5) than any other goalkeeper.
  • He’s often been linked with Real Madrid but Florentino Perez rejected the chance to sign him in 2016.
  • More recently, Juventus have been credited with a “genuine” interest.
  • De Gea’s contract expires at the end of the season and Solskjaer says talks are “still ongoing”.
  • United were linked with Jan Oblak in July after he expressed doubts about Atleti’s ambition.

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But a number of high-profile errors in recent months have placed his position and future at Old Trafford under scrutiny.

Juventus are the latest European giant to be linked with De Gea – whose contract expires at the end of this season – while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer recently admitted talks are “still ongoing” with no new deal in place yet.

But Schwarzer has questioned whether or not De Gea is worth the wages likely to be involved in a new contract, suggesting it might be time for United to part ways with the goalkeeper.

“They will have to come to a decision at some point on whether his value is the same as what he is asking for,” he told Goal. “There’s speculation about him and then there’s the fact that he may still choose to leave.

“Ultimately there comes the point where your history and your past performances only get you so far. It is about now. If you look at his last six months, his average performances haven’t been anywhere near what they have been in the past.

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“If you break it down, a lot of goals have come from direct mistakes from De Gea. Probably more than in the entire six or seven-year period before. There is always a balancing act as a player. What’s your current value? Your recent performances come into that.

“Can he get to the level he was at before? Part of that is being consistent. Consistency is not a word I would associate with David de Gea over the last six months. If not more.”

De Gea has kept 101 clean sheets during his spell at Old Trafford but appears to be suffering from a lack of confidence having made four errors leading to goals in the Premier League last season.

United take on Leicester City in the Premier League on Saturday.