EPL TALK: Classless Manchester United taking risk with de Gea exit
By dilly-dallying over their stalwart's future, Red Devils are left with critical hole that needs filling in a matter of weeks
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WHEN it comes to turning away from a jilted loved one, Manchester United really do display Trumpian levels of indifference. Joey from Friends dumped girlfriends with more class.
David de Gea’s bungled exit was the transfer equivalent of pretending to be asleep as a partner slammed the bedroom door on the way out, after a one-night stand that lasted 545 appearances and included 190 clean sheets.
Bruno Fernandes was obviously supporting his best friend at the club, but he wasn’t wrong in suggesting that de Gea deserved a decent farewell at Old Trafford, with a full house expressing gratitude to a loyal and largely successful servant. But elegant goodbyes and Manchester United go together about as well as de Gea’s feet and a ball.
The Spaniard joins Bryan Robson, David Beckham, Jaap Stam, Roy Keane and Cristiano Ronaldo in a select group of club legends treated like something found on the bottom of one’s shoe. Why can’t United replace this crassness with something a little more dignified for all concerned parties?
It’s not as if this separation comes as a surprise. Once Pep Guardiola brought his interpretation of Johan Cruyff’s keep-ball to the English Premier League, it soon became apparent that elite goalkeepers could no longer merely keep goal. They needed to multi-task and think on their feet, preferably by using them. Joe Hart paid a price for his perceived shortcomings at Manchester City, but de Gea held on at United.
Because de Gea was different. He had limbs like Inspector Gadget and skittered between the posts like a cat on a hot tin roof. His reflexes astounded. He reached shots other keepers simply couldn’t reach. While it may be overlooked now, particularly in a hysterical sport forever suffering from short-term memory loss, United’s keeper was arguably the world’s best for a four- or five-year period either side of 2016.
But he was lumbered with the worst United side in a generation. In the purest sense, he was arguably a better shot-stopper than both Peter Schmeichel and Edwin van der Sar, but was cursed with inadequate decision-making on the pitch and in the boardroom.
Even when the game began to move away from his feet of clay, de Gea still made saves beyond the grasp of many. His feline-like acrobatics earned him a second Golden Glove award in the EPL last season and steered United along in the Europa League and the FA Cup. But mistakes against Sevilla and Manchester City cost the club dearly in both competitions.
His time was just about done. And still, United procrastinated. Initially, Erik ten Hag didn’t mind extending his keeper’s contract for another year, until too many unforced errors changed the manager’s mind, which was understandable. But the club’s reluctance to make a firm decision earlier denied the keeper a chance to say goodbye and stopped ten Hag from signing a decent replacement before now.
United left with critical hole to fill quickly
United’s pre-season tour begins in just over a week. Inter Milan are not overly eager to sell their prized asset in just over a week. Their goalkeeper André Onana tops United’s wish-list, which is no surprise. He was occasionally spotted in midfield last season, spraying passes forward in both the Serie A and the Champions League with the confidence of a PE teacher toying with primary school kids. Onana loves the ball at his feet. Confidence isn’t an issue for the Cameroon international.
But the price might be. Inter can smell United’s desperation from Milan. Not for the first time, an untidy departure leaves the ragged Theatre of Dreams in search of a leading man at the last minute.
De Gea’s passing limitations have been a concern at the club for at least two years. He’s a bit too basic in a nuanced, tactical world and all that. None of this is new information. And yet, the déjà vu lingers as another race against the clock to sign a half-decent replacement for obscene money plays out. Watch Inter haggle for Onana. Watch United pay over the odds in a frantic deal to get an elite name on the plane ahead of a pre-season tour.
And that’s already making the assumption that Onana will slot in seamlessly at a club not renowned for goalkeepers settling immediately. Schmeichel and van der Sar were the only two reliable ones in as many decades. And de Gea the supreme eventually replaced de Gea the scrawny. When the Spaniard first joined, he looked as if he’d borrowed the jersey from an older brother and spent most of his match time in search of a hot meal. He was slight, malnourished and erratic.
As the great Brian Glanville once wrote, goalkeepers are different. They are not ravenous Norwegians looking to feast at every opportunity. Their position and status comes with a degree of vulnerability.
What United may gain is unknown. What they have lost is more certain. De Gea won the Premier League, the FA Cup, the Europa League and two Carabao Cups, but his impact surpassed the silverware. For a while, he was greater than the sum of United’s parts. Type in “David de Gea saves” on YouTube. There are too many clips to mention, but his efforts against Juan Mata, Mario Balotelli and a ridiculous stop against Bryan Ruiz should live on in the memory. His decline may feel inevitable now, but his brilliance was once unrivalled.
And United are left with a critical hole that needs filling in a matter of weeks, if not days, to give ten Hag a vague sense of stability ahead of a new season. Not for the first time, the Red Devils failed to act decisively in the transfer market, leaving their manager with a fresh problem to solve.
De Gea’s exit was necessary. His reaction time was clearly working against him. But his former employers are still moving slower than he ever did.
De Gea’s exit was necessary. His reaction time was clearly working against him. But his former employers are still moving slower than he ever did.
Neil Humphreys is an award-winning football writer and a best-selling author, who has covered the English Premier League since 2000 and has written 28 books.
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