David de Gea is struggling under Manchester United’s new manager. (Image courtesy of Getty Images) ) Former Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster believes David de Gea is not suited to Erik ten Hag’s style of play and that Manchester United will continue to make mistakes with him in goal.
De Gea has been in goal for United’s losses to Brighton and Brentford this season, with the Spaniard turning in a forgettable performance against the Bees.
Last weekend, Brentford thrashed United 4-0, with De Gea making mistakes for the first two goals, as he fluffed a Josh Dasilva shot and then put Christian Eriksen under immense pressure with a ball out from the back, which led to the second goal.
Playing from their own penalty area will be a feature of Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United team, but Foster believes De Gea will struggle with that style of play.
‘I really can excuse the first goal,’ Foster told talkSPORT. ‘That was just a mistake, and everyone makes them.’ He’s using poor technique.’ But it’s one of those shots where he has to choose between a dive and a scoop, and he’s done them all. It’s gotten through his hands.
‘That’s the kind of thing you’d do in training and pick up.’ You would save it 100 percent of the time. But when you’re in a game and the pressure is on, you start to doubt yourself. Sometimes that’s all it takes.’ The worrying thing for me was that De Gea was still trying to play the ball out from the back after that.’ I believe the issue with De Gea is that, while he is a world-class goalkeeper and one of my favorite goalkeepers in Premier League history, he is not suited to playing out from the back. He’s not cut out for the type of football Ten Hag prefers.
Erik ten Hag will stick to his football philosophy, which De Gea must adapt to (Picture: REUTERS)
‘If Ten Hag continues to play this style of football, they will be caught out like they were against Brentford.’
De Gea could have a busy night on Monday when Manchester United hosts Liverpool in the Premier League at Old Trafford.
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