In the 12 seasons that David de Gea served as Manchester United’s No. 1 between the sticks, the position of the goalkeeper — or at the least the style during which it’s interpreted by elite groups coached by cutting-edge tacticians — seems to have advanced past him.
Manchester City supervisor Pep Guardiola, analysing Inter Milan forward of the Champions League closing final month, spoke of how his workforce’s urgent scheme must change from the one used in opposition to United within the FA Cup.
“When you have a keeper, [Andre] Onana, it is difficult to make a high press properly because you cannot press a keeper like that,” he mentioned. “It’s different [from] United, for instance.” Notably, Onana’s footwork and passing have been repeatedly cited by Guardiola amongst Inter’s key strengths.
At his greatest, De Gea was a match-winning shot-stopper with the agility and pace of response to drag off astounding saves. In latest years, nonetheless, he has appeared like a participant out of his time as soccer has demanded extra from keepers, with City and Liverpool two standout examples of how the place has been remodeled.
Spectacular shot-stopper: When he was on his sport, De Gea was an elite goalkeeper, at the least within the conventional sense of the time period; however even throughout his lowest moments, he retained the flexibility to summon a terrific save.
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The new-age keeper
England’s two most dominant groups of the previous 5 years have been constructed on the ball-playing qualities of their keepers. Ederson, at City, and Alisson, at Liverpool, look as snug with the ball at their ft as they do with their palms. Their composure in possession and the precision of their passing add one other dimension to their groups.
They are successfully an eleventh outfield participant at instances and it will probably really feel like their groups have an additional man in defence with their capability to step out of aim and double up as a sweeper when required. Their long-range passing is usually a useful weapon in assault, however it’s extra their prowess in constructing out from the again that’s elementary to the model performed by Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp.
United has not had that possibility with De Gea in aim and more and more there was a way that it has held the workforce again in makes an attempt to modernise its play. While United has had some success with the Spaniard, its stage has not come near reaching the heights of City or Liverpool.
Under former managers Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the calls for on De Gea’s footwork weren’t so intense. But Erik ten Hag desires his keeper to be concerned within the play and United’s evolution underneath the Dutch supervisor has felt stifled on account of De Gea’s limitations.
So it’s not stunning that De Gea is leaving Manchester, even when the character of his exit raised questions on whether or not it was dealt with properly. The 32-year-old’s deal — which made him the world’s highest-paid keeper when he signed it in 2019 — expired on June 30 however on the time the membership mentioned it was nonetheless in discussions over an extension.
That adopted studies that De Gea had signed a contract extension just for the membership to withdraw that supply and are available again with diminished phrases. Eventually, the goalkeeper introduced his exit on social media, taking management of the messaging, with United taking part in catch-up.
Footwork points: De Gea’s distribution wasn’t as much as the usual Ten Hag demanded. With his shot-stopping now not as dependable because it as soon as was and his weak point on the ball limiting United’s play, the tip was close to.
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End of an period
The Spaniard’s departure marks the tip of an period — there aren’t any gamers left at Old Trafford who’ve gained the Premier League, with the final title success coming in Alex Ferguson’s closing season in cost (2012-13) — but it surely additionally deepens the bittersweet flavour of his time at United.
Signed by Ferguson from Atletico Madrid in 2011, De Gea got here right into a United aspect that had the standard to compete on the prime finish however was now not dominant. An overwhelming majority of his 545 appearances got here, nonetheless, in United’s lengthy post-Ferguson droop. In his 12 years with the Red Devils, he stored 190 clear sheets — essentially the most shutouts in United’s historical past — and gained the FA Cup, two League Cups and the Europa League along with his solitary league title.
Crowned gamers’ and followers’ participant of the yr 4 instances, De Gea’s legacy at United shouldn’t be one among a goalkeeper whose work paved the way in which for outlining success however one among a custodian who, at his most interesting, saved his workforce’s blushes, retaining it in matches it had no proper to be in.
When he was on his sport, he appeared unbreachable — in a single astonishing efficiency in opposition to Arsenal in late 2017, he made a joint-record 14 saves. While his capability to command his space and take care of excessive balls have been all the time underneath scrutiny, he definitely improved in these elements to take care of the extra bodily model of soccer in England.
Was he a terrific goalkeeper or a goalkeeper who made nice saves? There have been durations throughout his time in United when he actually was a terrific goalkeeper, at the least within the conventional sense of the time period; however even throughout his lowest moments, he retained the flexibility to summon a terrific save.
“Manchester will always be in my heart, Manchester has shaped me and will never leave me ”DE GEA
Where it went incorrect
But two issues mixed to cut back the safety of De Gea’s United tenure.
One, his shot-stopping consistency diminished. The video games in opposition to West Ham final season provide an illustration of this: within the residence match final October, he performed a starring position in a significant victory, producing at the least three match-winning stops. But his blunder within the reverse fixture this yr — he let a tame shot from Said Benrahma squirm previous him in a loss — was his fourth error resulting in a aim in all competitions in 2022-23 at that time, the joint-most of any Premier League participant.
Two, De Gea’s risk-averse nature, which served him so properly within the conventional facet of the position, restricted him with the ball at his ft. His distribution put his teammates underneath stress and though he noticeably acquired higher, it nonetheless wasn’t to a normal Ten Hag demanded.
So together with his strongest swimsuit — the flexibility to maintain the ball out of the again of his internet — now not as dependable because it as soon as was and his weak point on the ball limiting ten Hag’s most popular model, the tip was close to. De Gea leaves United as a membership legend, however his exit additionally makes area for a transition that many followers really feel is lengthy overdue. It offers Ten Hag the prospect to herald a keeper — the Guardiola-approved Onana — that might show transformational.
For all of De Gea’s glorious qualities, sparking a revolution was past him.