Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville has said that the goalkeeper David de Gea must return to basics if he wants to come back from his disappointing form and regain his confidence.
In Friday’s Premier League match with Tottenham Hotspur which ended in a 1-1 draw, De Gea had deflected Steven Bergwijn’s shot and landed it in his own net. This prompted another former United captain, Roy Keane, to comment that he was “sick to death” of the Spanish goalkeeper.
The criticism of De Gea was defended by United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer despite the latter hinting at the possibility of Dean Henderson to become first choice for club and country.
This fumble was De Gea’s seventh since the start of last season — a record tally in the Premier League that is shared by Newcastle United’s Martin Dubravka, Everton’s Jordan Pickford and Arsenal’s Bernd Leno.
Neville said in his podcast that the Spaniard was the one player the team could rely upon for the last four years but he is no longer the same.
“When form drops for six months it’s a blip but when it goes on for a year you start to worry. When it goes over two years it becomes more permanent.”
United ranks fifth in the table with 46 points and is set to face Sheffield United, which is currently seventh on 44 points, on Wednesday.
