Sports
De Gea Tipped To Start Season As Man Utd’s No1
David de Gea will “definitely starts as number one” for Manchester United next season, according to Gary Neville, who says Dean Henderson still has “a lot to prove”.
Not so long ago, De Gea was revered as the world’s finest goalkeeper, having spared United’s blushes on numerous occasions as the last line of defence during a frustrating transitional period.
However, the Spaniard has occasionally seen his standards slip under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with basic handling and positioning errors creeping into his game over the past two seasons.
The 29-year-old has cost the Red Devils valuable points in the Premier League, while also letting the team down in cup competitions, with calls for him to be dropped from the starting XI widespread since an FA Cup semi-final defeat to Chelsea in July.
United decided against sending Henderson for a third season on loan at Sheffield United last week, and also handed the 23-year-old a bumper new five-year contract.
The England shot-stopper has been tipped to replace De Gea between the sticks when Solskjaer’s men kick off their latest campaign against Crystal Palace on September 19, but Neville does not think his old club will give up on an experienced performer just yet.
“De Gea definitely starts as number one because there was a point where Ole could’ve dropped him towards the end of the season,” the Red Devils legend told Tidesports source. ”However, he stuck with him at that point and we are only around four weeks later.
“I still think Henderson’s got a lot to prove. Playing in goal for Sheffield United is a lot different than standing out there in that vacuous, empty, massive space which is the goal mouth at Old Trafford, when the team is up at the other end of the pitch most of the time attacking and then all of sudden you’ve got your first interaction with the game after 15 minutes and your concentration is tested like never before.
“I think it’s a very different expectation. It’s not a given that he’s going to go into the team at Manchester United and be everything that everyone thinks he’s going to be.
“He hasn’t got the experience yet to handle Old Trafford or to show us that he can handle Old Trafford. We hope he can show the potential he’s got but that’s the hardest position on a football field by a long way.
“It’s the biggest pressure on a football field and I think the Manchester United goalkeeping position, I would argue, is one of the most pressurised positions in English football.”
Neville added on the negative impact rotating De Gea and Henderson regularly could potentially have on the team: “The easiest thing in the world would be that they both play lots of games.
“Henderson plays in the cups and De Gea plays in the league. They’ve got an agreement of how it’s going to work this season and then there’s a transition in a year’s time.
“That might be something that could happen, but it doesn’t feel like that’s going to happen because De Gea will want to be number one, he’ll want to be the undisputed number one and Henderson will want his spot.
“It’s the one position where you can’t have uncertainty. You have to be definite with it because it really unnerves the rest of the team, the defence and the stadium.
“I believe it creates anxiety when the goalkeeper isn’t settled.”
Pep Guardiola has denied that Manchester City spent big in January in case the club are hit with a transfer embargo for alleged Premier League financial rule breaches.
City splashed out around £170 million ($211 million) on Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis and Nico Gonzalez before Monday’s transfer deadline.
They are much-needed reinforcements for a side who are well off the pace in the Premier League and who just scraped into the Champions League play-offs.
Guardiola, whose side edged third-tier Leyton Orient in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday, was asked whether the club’s striking outlay was triggered by the possibility they would be hit by a transfer ban.
Brighton came from behind to beat Chelsea and reach the fifth round of the FA Cup.
The Blues took a fortunate lead early on when Cole Palmer’s volleyed cross from the left was fumbled into his own net by Bart Verbruggen.
But Albion came back and Georginio Rutter headed in from Joel Veltman’s cross.
And they took the lead when Rutter picked out Kaoru Mitoma, the subject of a rejected £54m bid from Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr before the transfer deadline, who dinked the ball over Robert Sanchez.
Chelsea felt the goal should have been disallowed, as the ball struck Tariq Lamptey’s arm in the build-up, though there are no video assistant referees in the FA Cup fourth round.
Those goals came from Albion’s only shots in the first 60 minutes.
Plymouth Argyle produced a classic FA Cup giant-killing as the Championship’s bottom club stunned Premier League leaders Liverpool at a raucous Home Park.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot made 10 changes from the side that swept Tottenham aside to reach the Carabao Cup final and paid the price as Plymouth made the most of the opportunity to secure a place in the fifth round.
A scrappy tie came to life eight minutes after the interval when Plymouth were awarded a penalty after Harvey Elliott’s handball, Ryan Hardie drilling home the spot-kick in emphatic fashion.
Hardie almost added a second shortly afterwards when his shot was turned on to the post by Liverpool keeper Caoimhin Kelleher.
Liverpool applied some pressure in the closing stages, keeper Conor Hazard saving superbly from Diogo Jota then miraculously from substitute Darwin Nunez’s header, but Plymouth closed out a landmark win under new manager Miron Muslic.
Plymouth’s atmospheric Home Park erupted with a deafening roar as the final whistle sounded on a victory they will recall forever in Devon.
The sinking of Liverpool was a triumph for Plymouth’s charismatic manager Muslic, who has won the hearts of the ‘Green Army’ since succeeding the sacked Wayne Rooney.
In a stunning atmosphere, Plymouth sensed their chance when Liverpool’s teamsheet landed, with stellar names such as Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk not even on the bench.
Plymouth, as they had to, made the tie a scrap and then the decisive moment came when Elliott needlessly handled, allowing Hardie to assume the role of match-winner.
And they found a hero in keeper Hazard in those closing moments as he saved from Jota, then miraculously from Nunez’s header.
The main priority remains survival in the Championship, but the FA Cup demonstrated its enduring magic by producing a result that Plymouth hope will help their fight to stay up
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