David De Gea says he is capable of playing out from the back with Erik ten Hag keen on implementing his own playing style on Manchester United.
The Red Devils have won all three of their pre-season games so far and have impressed during the early stages of their preparations for the new Premier League season.
Ten Hag has held nothing back during United’s training sessions and matches, with Zidane Iqbal the latest player to be on the end of a sharp insult from the Dutchman during a drill on Thursday.
De Gea also appeared to be on the receiving end of a volley from Ten Hag after he chose to play a long ball in the closing stages of United’s 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace in Melbourne this week.
The Spaniard has been previously criticised for his distribution during his time at Old Trafford but the 31-year-old is adamant that he can adopt the style required under Ten Hag.
When asked if he felt confident about playing from the back, De Gea told reporters: ‘Yeah. Of course, if you want to play from the back you need a good structure, you need a lot of options, especially from the guys who are at the back.
‘Of course, that’s fundamental, to have a lot of options and I think we’re doing well. We showed against Crystal Palace we built from the back really well and scored some good goals.
‘I think I showed already. If you watch my games with the national team or when we played with Sir Alex at the beginning, you could see it, I don’t need to show to anyone.
‘I’ve been playing for many years. I will try my best; I will try to help the team and help us play. ‘As always, I’m going to stay quiet, calm and try to show that to the team and play out from the back.’
When asked if Ten Hag has told him to change his game, De Gea replied: ‘No, not really. ‘I mean, obviously, with different managers, you have to adapt to the way they want us to play.
‘But I used to play like this in the national team for many years, so I’m comfortable to be honest.
‘We want to build from the back, I want to be ready to give options to the players to play from the back and of course, be ready for the long balls. And the most important thing for me is saving shots, making the saves and helping the team.’
