Erik ten Hag has concerns over David de Gea’s style of play but a replacement goalkeeper is still low on his list of priorities for now, according to reports.
United announced last Thursday that Ajax manager Ten Hag would be taking over at Manchester United on a three-year deal – with the option for a fourth – and he is expected to make major changes at the club over the summer.
United have a number of players who are out of contract at the end of the campaign, including Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard, though there are others who may struggle to adapt to Ten Hag’s style.
The 52-year-old, who worked under Pep Guardiola at Bayern, plays a similar style of attacking, possession-based football to the Manchester City manager.
A major component to Guardiola’s football over the past decade has been the ball-playing characteristics of his goalkeepers, having had Manuel Neuer at Bayern and Ederson at City.
Ten Hag, similarly, has had Andre Onana at Ajax – a player who came through Barcelona’s academy – while Remko Pasveer, who has played 20 games in the Eredivisie this campaign, is also adept with the ball at his feet.
But De Gea is less assured with the ball and, according to ESPN, Ten Hag is concerned about his suitability for his system given the key role the goalkeeper plays in building play and passing out from the back.
Despite initially coming to Premier League with a reputation for being a good passer, De Gea has now been usurped by a host of better ball-playing goalkeepers in England – though he has not always been helped by the style of play of the team.
This season, De Gea has averaged just 20.6 passes per game with 69% accuracy, which is down on Pasveer’s 32 passes per game with 81% accuracy. Similarly, Ederson averages 26.8 passes per game with a huge 88% accuracy.
Despite the question marks over how well suited De Gea is for playing his style of football and resisting opposition’s pressing, Ten Hag does not see it as being so big of an issue that it needs addressing now.
De Gea has got back to his best this season and is in contention for United’s Player of the Season award, with Ten Hag happy to continue with the Spaniard between the sticks for now and address more pressing issues first.
With as many as 10 players set to be sold this summer, the club need to improve their squad considerably and Ten Hag is eyeing a new striker, right winger, two midfielders and defensive reinforcements.
