Surely there’s nowhere left to hide now for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer?
The Norwegian has been a passionate defender of David de Gea, even despite the countless number of mistakes he has made over the past couple of seasons in particular.
“I trust David 100 per cent. He went through a difficult patch last season but he has been very very good this season. I can’t remember any errors for goals this season apart from the Watford one.” Solskjaer after De Gea’s mistake for Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s goal
In fact, after making four errors that directly led to goals last season in the Premier League, the Spain international has already made three this term – and we’ve still got more than a couple of months to go.
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What is making the case for De Gea to remain the club’s number one goalkeeper even more far-fetched, is the sheer brilliance of Sergio Romero. The Argentine has had to play second-fiddle to his teammate for a number of seasons now, making just 57 appearances in total. Even despite his limited game-time however, he has never seemed to let the Red Devils down.
And against Derby on Thursday night in the FA Cup fifth round, he delivered a major statement to Solskjaer about the status of the goalkeeping position at Old Trafford. As per Sofascore, he made five total saves, but it was his fabulous finger-tip stops from Wayne Rooney’s efforts that really caught the eye.
He kept Derby out both when they were trying to take the lead in the game, and when they were trying to mount a comeback. He kept his concentration, and offered a reassuring presence for the United defence. Not to mention that his distribution was top-notch too, enjoying a 94% pass accuracy and completing ten of his 11 attempted long balls.
Just how long can Solskjaer continue to place his faith in De Gea, rather than giving his backing to the 6 foot 4 Romero? Surely a first-team spot has to be earned, and the latter has proven in the opportunities that he has been given that he will deliver on them.
The time has come for the United boss to make a big call for the greater good of the side.
Meanwhile, Wes Brown has exclusively opened up on his time at Manchester United and their situation right now.