David de Gea has come under criticism once again for a poor outing in goal. Paul Merson believes it’s time for Solskjaer to make a change.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer must now consider making a big decision regarding his number one choice for the Red Devils in goal. De Gea currently occupies that role but has faltered a lot of late.
The Spanish goalkeeper has received criticism on a number of occasions this season, with needless error now becoming ‘regular’ with the 30-year-old.
The latest of the above came in United’s 3-3 draw with Everton where De Gea was suspect for two of the Toffees’ goals.
Many have now called on Solskjaer to start Dean Henderson over the Spaniard as United look for consistency at the back.
The United boss has defended De Gea on a couple of occasions but recurring mistakes continue to see the Spaniard let his club down.
Solskjaer has hinted at a decision to be made, after admitting that Henderson is not the most ‘patient’ guy around.
Paul Merson has also shared his thoughts on the matter and agrees a change needs to be made.
He said in his column for Sky Sports: “If I’m Manchester United manager, I would be saying we’re in the title race. When you start saying that you’re not, it gives players an excuse, and a license. Going forward, they’re doing nothing wrong. They scored three goals, and if you’re scoring three goals at home you have to be winning.”
“It was bad goalkeeping for Calvert-Lewin’s goal. I thought it was just as bad as Everton’s first, in fact I thought it was worse. You’ve got to come out and you’ve got to be brave and take a kick for the team. That’s what wins Premier League titles. You’ve got to put your body on the line.”
It’s not the first time. He did it as well against RB Leipzig. He could’ve come out, smothered it and taken a hit. If you’re going to win league titles, you have to make sacrifices. A decision has to be made sooner or later.”
Merson then explained why now would be the best time to feature Dean Henderson in goal for United.
He continued: “You could try to get Dean Henderson into the team while there’s no crowds. That could get him a bit of confidence because you don’t want to put him in maybe next season when all of a sudden there’s 75,000 people there. He’d be under severe pressure straightaway. If you put Henderson in the team, are you going to allow him to make four mistakes?”
“De Gea has been great and at one stage he was the best goalie in the world. He’s not anymore. Jesse Lingard was one of the first names on the England teamsheet three years ago, now he’s going on loan to West Ham. Time moves on. When you’re manager of Manchester United, you have to make big decisions. If you don’t make them, and they keep coming back to haunt you then something’s wrong.”
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