David de Gea looks set to remain as Manchester United No. 1 goalkeeper this season as Dean Henderson will pen a season-long loan deal with Nottingham Forest.
The Spaniard has been United’s first choice shot-stopper for over a decade but his stagnating form in recent years led to suggestions that Henderson would be eased into the starting line-up more regularly. Indeed, a report in the Manchester Evening News outlines how former Red Devils boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer promised Henderson last summer that he would be given a run of matches.
However, the shot-stopper contracted Covid and missed the club’s pre-season as he was unavailable for selection for two months – during which De Gea enjoyed a resurgence in form. That marked a noticeable recovery from the Europa League final, when the Spaniard was unable to stop any of Villarreal’s 11 spot kicks before being spurned with his own effort to seal United’s fate.
Having featured 26 times under Solskjaer in the 2020/21 campaign, Henderson was not involved at all in the Premier League last season and did not feature in Ralf Rangnick’s plans. He is now leaving once again for regular first-team football in a move that suggests De Gea will once again be the unopposed starting choice.
In an interview published in Marca, Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga discussed how he and De Gea have fallen from prominence in the Spanish international setup under Luis Enrique. The Blues deputy goalkeeper revealed how De Gea had a “private chat” with the Spain boss – seeing him frozen out of the squad with Athletic Bilbao’s Unai Simon, David Raya of Brentford and Brighton ’s Robert Sanchez all preferred.
It is not only at international level where there are doubts over De Gea; his standing at United was described as a “big problem” by a teammate at Old Trafford in the 2020-21 campaign. The prolonged competition from Henderson – widely viewed as a potential first-choice England goalkeeper – is said to have unsettled the Spaniard, who was wary of his starting spot.
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A separate report from the MEN suggested that Solskjaer wanted to drop De Gea multiple times but feared a negative backlash from the shot-stopper and so relented. It is also highlighted how many of United’s players thought that De Gea – the club’s second highest earner behind Cristiano Ronaldo – should have lost his place in the team due to his form.
Ten Hag now has a decision to make that Solskjaer was unable to; whether the club should invest in a new goalkeeper to challenge the Spaniard for a starting spot at the club.
