'De Gea definitely starts as no 1' - Neville settles goalkeeping debate

Manchester United should ‘definitely’ start De Gea as their No.1 for next season rather than the unproven Henderson, says Neville.

David de Gea has seen his reputation as one of the world’s best goalkeepers blown to smithereens over the last few years, leaving his spot in the Manchester United and Spanish national teams in doubt.

His place at United, in particular, seems under threat as Dean Henderson has returned. The club elected to not loan the 23-year-old for a sixth time and instead tied him down to a new five-year contract.

Henderson’s presence at Old Trafford will only pile even more pressure on De Gea. Especially after impressing for Sheffield United last season, tieing the United No.1 on 13 clean sheets in the Premier League.

It’s led many fans and pundits to tip the young goalkeeper to leapfrog De Gea in the United pecking order, with the error-prone Spaniard struggling to get out of his rut.

But Neville doesn’t believe Ole Gunnar Solskjaer should drop the experienced shot-stopper for a young one right now.

The former Red Devils captain told Sky Sports: “De Gea definitely starts as number one because there was a point where Ole could’ve dropped him towards the end of the season.

“However, he stuck with him at that point and we are only around four weeks later.

“I still think Henderson’s got a lot to prove. Playing in goal for Sheffield United is a lot different than standing out there in that vacuous, empty, massive space which is the goal mouth at Old Trafford, when the team are up at the other end of the pitch most of the time attacking and then all of sudden you’ve got your first interaction with the game after 15 minutes and your concentration is tested like never before.

“I think it’s a very different expectation. It’s not a given that he’s going to go into the team at Manchester United and be everything that everyone thinks he’s going to be.

“He hasn’t got the experience yet to handle Old Trafford or to show us that he can handle Old Trafford. We hope he can show the potential he’s got but that’s the hardest position on a football field by a long way.

“It’s the biggest pressure on a football field and I think the Manchester United goalkeeping position, I would argue, is one of the most pressurized positions in English football.”