Spain manager Luis Enrique has revealed that he has spoken to David de Gea after the Manchester United goalkeeper was a notable omission from the national squad.
United’s number one was a surprising absentee from the La Roja squad for their two friendlies this month.
Athletic Bilbao stopper Unai Simon, who has been Enrique’s number one, was named in the squad but Premier League goalkeepers Robert Sanchez and David Raya were both given the nod over de Gea.
To add to de Gea’s international misery, when Sanchez pulled out of the squad due to personal reasons, Enrique opted to draft in Barcelona B goalkeeper Arnau Tenas ahead of de Gea.
Following yesterday’s 2-1 win against Albania, Enrique stated: “We asked the U21 manager to send us a goalkeeper as Robert Sanchez couldn’t play.
“They decided that Arnau Tenas was the one.”
Despite arguably being Manchester United’s player of the season so far and only Cristiano Ronaldo likely being his main challenger to winning the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award for a record fifth time, de Gea’s international prospects haven’t looked bleaker.
De Gea hasn’t featured for his national side since their 1-0 win over Ukraine in October 2020.
After a wretched World Cup in 2018, the 31-year-old has been an unused substitute in both Spain’s European Championship and World Cup qualifying campaigns.
Although de Gea looks to have returned to the peak of his shot stopping powers that is clearly not enough to warrant a place in Enrique’s squad.
With the Champions League winning manager in charge and only two further international breaks before this winter’s showpiece in Qatar, there is a growing possibility that de Gea might not even make Spain’s World Cup squad.
Ahead of the clash against Albania, Enrique admitted he had spoken to the former Atletico Madrid youngster.
Enrique said: “I spoke with David, but before the game, I no longer talk about players who are not on the list. You will forgive me.”
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