Paul Scholes believes David De Gea is unable to play in the system Erik ten Hag wants to instil at Manchester United.
Ten Hag’s side crashed to a humiliating three-goal defeat to Sevilla on Thursday night in a result that ended their European campaign. Each of the three goals saw the beleaguered De Gea culpable and most strikingly for the third goal when he air-kicked a clearance to give the hosts an open goal.
Yousef En-Nesyri scored either side of Loic Bade’s header on an abject evening for United, who could easily have lost the game by more. The result and manner of the performance will lead to plenty of question marks over a number of players’ futures, including De Gea.
The Spaniard is out of contract at Old Trafford this summer and despite negotiations over a new deal ongoing, no agreement has yet been struck. United have also been linked with signing a goalkeeper this summer to usurp De Gea.
“He was making me nervous the whole night with the game he was having,” Scholes said on BT Sport after the match, analysing De Gea’s performance. “I think he was making the whole team nervous.
“Nobody knew if he was going to control it or try to clear it. I am still not too sure what he was trying to do.”
His fellow BT pundit Owen Hargreaves agreed, adding: “When he comes out, he 100 per cent does not know what he is going to do. He should just put his foot through it but he is indecisive. He tried to stop that ball dead under his foot, but that was impossible with that ball.”
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Hargreaves continued: “De Gea is a brilliant shot-stopper who has been a tremendous servant to this football club. But he struggles with his feet and that has shown at times this season with how United are trying to play.
“Ten Hag wants his team to play out from the back and play. But the goals United conceded came from that. So it looks like he is not fit for that philosophy.”
Scholes agreed, hinting that the Spaniard may be replaced this summer and that it was the style of play he was being asked to do that was the root of the problem: “He has been a brilliant goalkeeper for this club but he will never be a brilliant footballer.
“This manager wants a footballer, so he is asking David to do something he is not comfortable with – that might make him nervous.
“He kicked the ball out of play under no pressure in the first minute and he was not coming for crosses. That is without talking about the goals. He needed to calm the game down and he did not.”
Ten Hag said after the match on his goalkeeper: “David de Gea as a long-term goalkeeper? He is the one with the cleanest sheets in the Premier League."
