Competition From Dean Henderson Has Forced David de Gea to Up His Game
Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea could not catch a break last season, or at times…a shot.
Errors were increasingly creeping into his game and critics pointed out that the Spanish stopper, undoubtedly the best in the world between 2015 and 2017, had been in decline ever since 2018.
A weak attempt at a save during a World Cup game against Portugal seemed to be the moment it really set in, although there had even been isolated wobbles in the months leading up to that.
The question was asked, would De Gea, still not even 30 and therefore shy of his expected peak as a goalkeeper, ever recapture his form of old? Should United even get rid altogether?
Trying to sell De Ge seemed drastic then – chances are, in a deflated market with few or no buyers it would have been close to impossible anyway – and even more so now in hindsight.
United’s goal wasn’t exactly peppered by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League in midweek, but without De Gea performing as he did in the French capital - keeping out both Kylian Mbappe and Neymar with fine saves - the outcome would have been different.
One major thing is different within United’s goalkeeping department this season: competition.
De Gea had not been pushed for his place for some time, but he now is and it shows. Dean Henderson, having been one of the Premier League’s best while on loan at Sheffield United last season and playing his way into the England squad, has proven he is a genuine alternative.
The summer brought murmurings and rumours of United potentially replacing De Gea with Henderson. But while it may still have been premature for that to happen given his lack of experience at the very highest level, the threat of it being a possibility seems to have been enough to stir something in United’s incumbent number one.
A lack of competition or pressure can make any professional footballer subconsciously complacent.
Sergio Romero, as much as he has been heralded as a reliable deputy over the last five years, was exactly that, a deputy. Despite amassing close to 100 caps for Argentina and playing in the 2014 World Cup final, he hasn’t been a starter for any club since 2013 and was never going to become that at United, despite the sporadic speculation he would replace De Gea.
United’s only other senior goalkeeper is Lee Grant. And while he is a well respected and valuable professional who made the effort to learn Spanish when he joined the club in 2018, the veteran, as most third choice goalkeepers are, was only ever intended to be a glorified training partner.
Henderson, as an ambitious young goalkeeper still in the infancy of his senior career and determined to win a starting place, has made it quite clear he isn’t content on the bench. As such, he gives United something that neither Romero, who has been treated appallingly by the club in recent months over his desire to leave, nor Grant can offer.
De Gea, despite being the one under pressure, is beginning to return to his best as a result.
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