Erik ten Hag spoke highly of David de Gea before the goalkeeper’s disaster-class against Sevilla.
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag made his views plain on David de Gea ahead of the Sevilla game.
Speaking to the press conference, he talked up the Spaniard – only for the goalkeeper to have a complete nightmare against Sevilla.
It was a heavy hint he could look to renew David de Gea’s contract this summer.
Ten Hag was let down – or had his eyes opened
Speaking at his press conference, Ten Hag uttered nine words which De Gea spent 90 minutes proving very wrong.
He said: “David is really multi-functional and a really complete goalkeeper.”
We knew of course, that this was completely incorrect. De Gea is a one-dimensional goalkeeper, very good at shot-stopping and little else.
Ten Hag’s words may simply have been made to boost the goalkeeper’s confidence and see how he would cope with the pressure of the big game. Unfortunately he wilted.
De Gea’s poor performance leaves Ten Hag’s comments looking like total joke. That’s more of a reflection on De Gea than it is the manager.
Now it is up to Ten Hag to make the right decision on De Gea this summer and release him when his contract expires.
He was asked after the game in his press conference if De Gea would be his goalkeeper next season.
Ten Hag dodged the question, simply saying that De Gea is a ‘capable’ goalkeeper with the most clean sheets in the Premier League.
He likely won’t be impressed with the goalkeeper making his words look silly. But on the other hand, his decision for this summer may have been made a lot easier.
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