David de Gea has caused a lot of controversy, with his form taking massive dips and peaks across the last couple of seasons.
De Gea is no doubt one of Manchester United's greatest ever goalkeepers, however the last few seasons have been rough for the player.
A fair number called for Dean Henderson to be starting over him, and there came a point where the Englishman did stake a claim to the No.1 spot during the COVID half of the 20/21 season, however injuries and suffering from illness meant the player never regained his spot in 21/22 and David de Gea reigned supreme.
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21/22 was an incredibly tough year for Manchester United, finishing 6th in the Premier League and crashing out of every cup competition in rather dismal fashion.
When questioned on this, De Gea was quick to agree.
“For me, for everyone, it was a very tough season; embarrassing sometimes,” De Gea accepts. “Some games were a mess, a disaster.
“So we should learn from last season — that cannot happen again, because it was tough. It was painful to be there and not (be) capable to win games, losing games 4-0 or 5-0. It was unacceptable. Sometimes you have to feel pain to go up and keep going.”
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There have often been complaints from fans that within the squad and the club, people did not care enough about the actual football.
It has been very well voiced that the owners care more about the money, that former VC Ed Woodward cared more about the commercial side of transfers than the value they bring the team, and that the media team care more about their interactions and clicks than producing content fans care about.
David de Gea noted that the squad need to get back to basics.
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“We needed a better culture of football, of just thinking about football, nothing else,” De Gea noted.
“Of course, you cannot be late. People who work in their jobs, you cannot be late. So I think you cannot be late for training, we cannot be late for the meetings. That’s life, you have to be on time and professional.”
When quizzed on if he thinks some of his team mates ‘lost focus’ last season, his answer was simple: “I don’t know. In general, if you want to perform properly, you have to be more focused at the top level.”
David de Gea feels very excited about the arrival of Erik ten Hag, having worked with the new boss for almost a month now.
“With a new manager, we are in a good way. For sure, he is very focused on football and what we need, and the players feel the same, so I have good feelings.
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“I think many things have to change. I think we were really poor last season. We played really bad, to be honest. But we are really improving. Under the new manager, things are going really well.”
It has been noted from pundits and fans alike that the side as a whole seem to be working much harder on the field, and in a much more coordinated manner.
“We are working really hard as a team, that’s the most important thing,” the Spaniard explained. "Let’s see, go day-by-day, try to work as hard as possible and try to improve.”
“He’s very intense,” De Gea says on Ten Hag. “Everything he says is fully focused, 100 per cent. In training he brings new things, new thoughts, so we need to adapt to him.
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“But we show already in those three (pre-season) games we are pressing high, we won the ball, we want to keep the ball, dictate, we want to lead the game. So I think we are doing well, we are working really hard.”
David de Gea looks set to stay as Manchester United’s No.1 next season, and has already shown extra ability on the ball – something he has been critiqued on in the past.
Topics: Manchester United, David De Gea, Erik Ten Hag, Football, Premier League
Dylan Penketh