United would be foolish to let De Gea go (Video)
Whenever a team splashes out around £17m for a 20-year-old, the usual process to take is to give him time to improve and adjust to his new surroundings. Manchester United, around 18 months ago, decided that they would part with the extortionate fee in order to bring David De Gea to Old Trafford.
It was a British record fee for a goalkeeper and on a player who had been tipped to secure the number one spot at United for the foreseeable future. However, the young Spaniard initially struggled to adjust to his new surroundings and was regularly dropped in favour of backup goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard.
However, while his first 12 months in England were somewhat calamitous, De Gea has significantly improved and, after an early season battle with Lindegaard, has firmly established himself as United’s number one.
Nevertheless, speculation over recent weeks has suggested the 22-year-old could be set for an early return to Spain. Numerous reports in the Spanish media have linked the shot-stopper with a move to Barcelona as a replacement for Victor Valdes, who looks set to depart Camp Nou sooner rather than later.
Yet, regardless of the rumours, United would be foolish to allow the young goalkeeper to leave. Granted, he hasn’t made as big an impact as many had hoped, and while his shot-stopping capabilities are of the highest standard, he still relatively poor in the the other departments, but it is these aspects of his game that he can work on.
Either way, unless United can recoup most, if not all, of the £17m the paid for De Gea back in 2011, Sir Alex Ferguson would be stupid to allow the youngster to leave Old Trafford. He’s beginning to show why the club spent all that money on him in the past and with him living up to his potential, now is the time to stick rather than twist with the goalkeeper.
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