David de Gea's future at Manchester United is under threat after his latest error, with the goalkeeper out of contract in the summer.
De Gea currently earns a whopping £375,000-a-week and United are currently in talks with him over a new deal which would see him take a significant pay cut, reducing his weekly wage to around £200,000. However, after the Spaniard made a crucial error in United's 1-0 defeat at West Ham, some figures at United are questioning whether they should extend his deal at all.
De Gea has now made four errors leading directly to goals this season, the joint-most of any Premier League player. However, the 32-year-old has also kept more clean sheets in the league this season than any other goalkeeper and Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has defended his former teammate.
During the latest episode of Ferdinand's Vibe With Five show on YouTube, the former defender branded fellow presenter Joel Beya's claim that Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale will go on to have a better Premier League career than De Gea "wild".
"Wow, wow, WOW! How many Premier Leagues has he (De Gea) won? How many UEFA Cups has he won? Does he have an FA Cup as well?! Probably got a League Cup in there," Ferdinand responded.
"He has done the clean sweep domestically. I think Ramsdale has been tremendous this season. Another one who has come on leaps and bounds. Hasn't he got two or three relegations under his belt so far?! I'm just asking.
"You are making big wild statements again! You did it before with [William] Saliba. Too early. Too quick. This season he [De Gea] has made mistakes. He has made four mistakes leading to goals. The most in a season with [Hugo] Lloris. That's not good – but most clean sheets [this season].
"The geezer has won Player of the Year at Man United, I think it's five times. What does that tell you?! He has got to be performing and playing tip-top football." United boss Erik ten Hag publicly backed De Gea after the West Ham loss, insisting he wanted him to stay at Old Trafford.
"He has the most clean sheets in the league so we would not be here in this position without him," Ten Hag said. "He fully has my belief. No concerns with him. It happens but as a team you have to deal with it, show character, be resilient and bounce back. We want him to stay and extend his contract."
