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David de Gea joined Manchester United in the summer of 2011 and has been a loyal servant to the club across 12 years. He has made 538 appearances and kept 188 clean sheets, recently breaking club legend Peter Schmeichel's clean sheet record. He could end the season with a Premier League Golden Glove, his second in the English top flight. His performances in the first few seasons since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement were nothing short of world class.
David de Gea is a four-time winner of the 'Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year' award - given to the best player at United for a particular season. He was included in the Professional Footballers' Association team of the year on five occasions. He made the cut for the FIFPro World XI once, in 2018, with three nominations as well.
United have not challenged for the Premier League trophy since 2013. They finished second on two occasions. Under Erik ten Hag, there is renewed hope and optimism for next season and fans can expect United to challenge for the Premier League. However, if United want to win the Premier League or the Champions League, they need to start their squad rebuild this summer by replacing David de Gea.
Read on to find out why.
#5 David de Gea cannot play as a sweeper keeper
Football has evolved. The modern game demands a keeper who can sweep up behind the defense. Sweeper keepers are the norm now, not the exception. David de Gea ranks 14th in the Premier League this season for sweeper clearances - that's lower than keepers from Southampton, Leicester City, Leeds United and Everton, who are all fighting for Premier League survival.
The Spaniard has performed 27 defensive actions outside the penalty area at an average distance of 14.5 yards from goal. There are no prizes for guessing who is in the first place - Alisson. The Brazilian has performed 67 defensive actions at an average distance of 19 yards from goal. This allows Liverpool to play a high line, something United cannot do with de Gea in goal.
#4 Claiming crosses/punches
Another quality David de Gea lacks is claiming crosses from open play and set pieces. It is very rare to see the Spaniard step out confidently and claim crosses or punch the ball away. There have been 447 crosses into United's penalty area this season in the league. De Gea has been successful in stopping just 14 of them, with a success rate of 3.1% which is easily the lowest in the league.
David de Gea ranks 11th for punches and 10th for clearances in the Premier League this season. These numbers are woeful for a team that intends to fight for the Premier League trophy.
#3 Penalty save record
David de Gea has saved 13 penalties out of 72 faced, a poor record to say the least. He could not save a single penalty in the 2021 Europa League final against Villarreal, nor could he save any penalty against Brighton & Hove Albion in the recent FA Cup semi-final.
To add to United's misery, David de Gea missed his spot kick in the aforementioned Europa League final, which gifted the trophy to Villarreal. His last penalty save was against Ismaila Sarr of Watford in November 2021. United face arch-rivals Manchester City in the FA Cup final next month. If the final goes to penalties, would anyone root for De Gea over Ederson?
#2 Long pass and throwing accuracy
Several goalkeepers in the modern game are capable of initiating their teams' attack. Many goalkeepers launch the ball up the field or throw the ball right at the feet of their forwards, who would be playing off the shoulder of the last defender to initiate a counter.
David de Gea's statistics on these two key metrics are average at best. He has attempted 380 long passes (passes over 40 yards) and successfully completed 123, a success rate of only 32.4% . His throwing accuracy is quite similar - clocking in at 32.5%. This places De Gea in 10th place for both statistics (comfortably mid-table). The Brazilian duo of Ederson and Alisson have posted significantly better percentages of 45.2% and 41.2%, respectively.
#1 Erik ten Hag's playing style
Erik ten Hag is a manager who wants his team to play out from the back but is well aware of David de Gea's limitations. United's goalkeeper ranks ninth for successful passes in the Premier League this season. His pass completion percentage is 32.4% which places De Gea lower than Keylor Navas of Nottingham Forest and Neto of Bournemouth.
Opposition teams have successfully exploited this weakness. The 4-0 humbling suffered at the hands of Brentford in the second game of the season would have confirmed Ten Hag's suspicions that de Gea is not suited to his style of play. Even die-hard De Gea fans would agree that his recent performance against Sevilla was probably the worst of his career. United cannot afford to go into the new season with de Gea between the sticks.
