Is David de Gea Good Enough for Manchester United?
If not, why?
David de Gea has been a Manchester United since 2011. He began his United career badly, with many mistakes in games that cost the team. But he got over this stretch of bad form and has turned into one of the best Goalkeepers in the past decade. But I think most United fans can agree that despite his incredible shot-stopping, he has weaknesses in distribution and being a sweeper keeper. Are these weaknesses too big to ignore, or are we just exaggerating how bad it is?
Shot Stopping
These stats are comparing him to Goalkeepers in the top 5 leagues, in the past 365 days, on Fbref. These stats are overall, very good. The stats that are not the greatest are not on him. The defense in front of him is partly responsible because they are the ones who allow shots to be made and they have allowed a lot of shots, making these stats look worse. Now the main stat I am looking at is PSxG-GA. This means Post Shots expected Goals minus Goals Allowed. So de Gea has a +0.20 per 90, which ranks him in the 95th percentile. In normal terms, he is one one the best shot-stoppers in the world. But we already knew this.
Sweeper Keeper?
Also from fbref, these stats compare de Gea with Goalkeepers in the top 5 leagues. So to say the least he is terrible in these stats. He stops 3.2% of crosses, to compare Ederson stops 8.1% of crosses. de Gea also rarely ever comes out of his box and when he does it is not very far. Under Ralf Rangnick has played a high line so de Gea needs to come out more to stop through balls and balls over the top that can expose the defense and create opportunities on goal.
Distribution
Once again, de Gea is amongst the worse goalkeepers in the top 5 leagues on fbref, this time in distribution. When it says in parenthesis, Launched, it means 40-yard+ passes(weirdly). The modern goalkeeper has to be good in distribution if he is to play for a top team.
Final Thoughts
David de Gea has shown that he is one of the best shot-stoppers in the world. But he is terrible in distribution and being a sweeper-keeper. This would be fine for a team who is always sitting back, allowing their opposition on to them and defending well, like Atletico Madrid. Official new Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag, who is taking over at the beginning of next season, plays a high line, plays out of the back, and is looking to have as much possession as possible. If this is how ETH sets up the team next season, David de Gea is not capable of caring out ETH’s instructions. In conclusion, David de Gea is sadly not good enough to play for Manchester United if he doesn’t improve next season.