Ralf Rangnick may not have been able to make an impact on the pitch whatsoever during his time at Manchester United, but he certainly has off it.
The interim manager finished his stint in charge at United with a worse winning percentage than Gary Neville managed in his disastrous tenure at Valencia. Things did not go well in the slightest. So the fact that Rangnick still maintains the respect of the majority of supporters just proves how much they have valued his no-nonsense, no excuses evaluations of the club.
Everything the German has said about the sorry state of United has been bang on the money and it has been such a relief to hear someone within the walls finally express it. However, he may have been wrong in one instance.
ALSO READ: Steve McClaren has already told Manchester United about Cristiano Ronaldo's role next season
Following the final match at Old Trafford this season, Rangnick discussed where United need to strengthen in the summer transfer market and the only position he excluded from the list was goalkeeper. He told Sky Sports: "Apart from goalkeeping where we have three excellent goalkeepers in Tom Heaton, Dean Henderson and David de Gea, in all other areas there will be players leaving the club.
"I wouldn't put focus on special areas of the pitch — it should go through the whole team. It's obvious quite a few players will leave and there is a need for top-quality players."
While he certainly isn't wrong with the fact that United need reinforcements all over the pitch to give Erik ten Hag the best chance of being an immediate success, he might have stopped too short in saying that a new goalkeeper isn't needed as well.
David de Gea has enjoyed a great season. Of that, there can be little doubt. The Spaniard ranked third in the saves charts this season, on 128, and you dread to think how much further United may have sunk without him. He is one of the few players to walk around the campaign with his reputation enhanced.
And yet, if we're being brutally honest, he isn't good enough to get United to where they want to be.
De Gea may have made lots of saves, but that is typical when you face so many shots. United's back-line hasn't exactly protected him much so he was bound to have plenty more efforts to face. When you look at save percentage stats it tells a much clearer story. The 31-year-old had a save percentage of just 69.5 per cent, the 12th best in the league.
You just need to look at the 57 goals United conceded this season, finishing on a pathetic goal difference of zero, to see De Gea's failings between the sticks even if is able to make great saves on other occasions.
He remains a real liability at conceding at his near post, as has been the case for years, he appears to repeatedly get caught flat-footed by shots — hinting at poor anticipation — strikes often squirm past him when his hand should be stronger, he gets lobbed more than most goalkeepers, the command of his box is non-existent and he is terrible in 1 v 1 scenarios; it almost looks like he shrinks in the goal as players close in. Those aren't traits of elite goalkeepers.
Ironically, Manchester City's Ederson — largely considered to be among the top three goalkeepers in the country — only had a marginally better save percentage of 65.9 per cent but that is offset by the fact that his all-round game is much better and helps the team concede a lot fewer chances.
The Brazilian plays high up the pitch, is quick off his line whenever danger arises and is so comfortable on the ball he could probably play outfield. This means his outfield teammates have great trust in him and are able to squeeze the opposition tight up the field and thus are less likely to concede chances. United have no such trust in De Gea, so they either constantly get caught out in behind or have to sit deep which invites pressure and stifles attacks. Ederson only faced 83 shots throughout the entire season whereas De Gea had to deal with 177.
All of that is before you even get to his distribution, which has never been the best and has directly led to his annexation from the Spain national team. He has now been replaced by Unai Simon as No.1 and with Brighton's Robert Sanchez and Brentford's David Raya taking the other squad spots.
De Gea really couldn't be a less of an ideal goalkeeper for Ten Hag. The Dutchman likes to play a high line and likes his sides to build out from the back, both of which United's current No.1 struggles to do.
If Ten Hag attempts play this way with De Gea between the sticks it could end disastrously, but just this past season he showed that a goalkeeper's ability on the ball may be more important to him than his capability of stopping shots.
ALSO READ: Manchester United have started Erik ten Hag's appointment with a contract mistake
He came in for some criticism following Ajax's 2-2 draw with Benfica in the Champions League for starting 38-year-old goalkeeper Remko Pasveer — who made a mistake for the second equaliser — over Andre Onana as he's better at playing with his feet.
Ten Hag's preference for his goalkeepers is already clear and it doesn't bode well for De Gea, who may soon find himself surplus to requirements despite still having a great season. Dean Henderson may not be the solution either and with the academy graduate closing in on a move to Newcastle anyway, so it's clear that Rangnick was wrong.
United probably even need to add a goalkeeper to their ever-growing transfer list this summer.
Sign up to our United newsletter so you never miss an update from Old Trafford this season.
