“It’s the single most difficult position in English football being the Manchester United goalkeeper,” Gary Neville mooted earlier this month.
David de Gea has held the fort nobly for over a decade now, albeit with a few bumps along the way. He’s the last active current United squad member to have lifted the title - given Phil Jones has yet to complete a full training session under Erik ten Hag - having done so in 2013 under Sir Alex Ferguson.
The Spaniard showed his best attribute with yet more eye-catching saves in Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final win over Fulham, without which United could have been three goals down before the comeback.
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De Gea is expected to sign a new deal ahead of this summer with his current deal due to expire at the end of the season. But Ten Hag will be keeping an eye on the future.
Times have moved on since Sir Alex’s recruitment of De Gea and managers are looking for different attributes, namely ball control and composure. Ten Hag’s system begs for a goalkeeper with both of those talents, especially the latter.
Even the most ardent United fans will admit that Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson and Manchester City’s Ederson are both elite examples of the modern-day goalkeeper, and have won matches not just with their hands, but also with their mind and feet.
De Gea had a real problem with his composure and distribution in the first leg of United’s Europa League win over Real Betis and but for a few let-offs, the scoreline could have been much closer than 4-1.
The shot-stopper completed just 17 of his 25 passes in the game which for a goalkeeper is mighty concerning. One player who may be a potential replacement is Brentford star David Raya, who is keeping his senior out of the Spain squad.
When their Premier League stats are compared there is a notable gap. De Gea has completed 711 passes whereas Raya has tallied 1,026. Passes-per-match average at just under 28 for De Gea and 38 for Raya. In regards to accurate long balls, there's another clear gap between the two - 121 vs 298.
Yes, this demonstrates good ball skills but it also highlights Raya's composure. Teams are far more likely to press Brentford than United yet the stats tell the story, as does a brief passage of play in Brentford’s draw with Leicester at the weekend.
At one point, in the space of six seconds, Raya found himself out of his box and beating Foxes attacker Harvey Barnes, not once but twice. It’s no surprise Brentford’s social media admin made a point of showcasing the moment.
That’s not to say Raya is mistake-free. He has made an error leading to a goal this season. But the same can also be said of Ederson against Tottenham in January and more recently Alisson against Real Madrid.
Furthermore, Raya was witness to a De Gea mistake in August’s 4-0 loss at Brentford. The point is, goalkeepers are going to make mistakes, it's whether their positives negate the momentary blips.
Raya has not signed a new Bees contract with less than 15 months left on his current deal and has already turned down at least two contract offers from his employers. It will be interesting to see whether Ten Hag opts to bring in a challenger for De Gea next year, should he stay as expected, or secure a firm back-up like Jack Butland.
That could determine whether Raya is a United player or not next season but either way, Raya has evidenced that he has the attributes that Ten Hag admires and attains early signs of a potential future United number one.
"I think he could step up," is Neville’s verdict. He might be right.
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