Jamie Carragher believes Manchester United star is a 'big problem' for Erik ten Hag after FA Cup final loss
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher believes Manchester United need to make replacing goalkeeper David de Gea a priority in the summer transfer market. That comes after the Spaniard's poor performance in the Red Devils' 2-1 loss against Manchester City in the FA Cup final on Saturday (June 3).
City opened the scoring after just 12 seconds at the Wembley, with Ilkay Gundogan scoring the fastest goal in an FA Cup final. United, though, fought back as Jack Grealish was, arguably harshly, deemed to have handled the ball in the penalty area. Bruno Fernandes slotted the resulting penalty home.
Gundogan scored his second of the game in the 51st minute. He got on the end of a Kevin De Bruyne free-kick and shinned a volley from outside the area. The ball comfortably rolled past David de Gea, who got a hand to it but couldn't prevent the goal.
The goal drew a lot of criticism for the Manchester United goalkeeper from fans and pundits alike, and Jamie Carragher joined in as well:
"DDG is a big problem for Man United, is fixing that position more important than them signing a striker," he tweeted.
DDG is a big problem for Man United, is fixing that position more important than them signing a striker 🤷♂️
De Gea was poor in the final apart from the goal as well. He completed just 17 of his 35 passes and just eight of his 26 long balls but did make three saves.
The Spaniard won the Premier League Golden Glove award with 17 clean sheets in 38 games this season. His contract with Manchester United expires this month, but as per Metro, he's set to sign a new deal with the club to extend his stay.
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag on David de Gea's after FA Cup final loss
After the game, manager Erik ten Hag was asked about what he thought of David de Gea's performance in the FA Cup final and the season as a whole. He insisted that all of his players have had a good season but also acknowledged that there needs to be improvements.
"In this moment, I don't want to talk about such issues of criticism because we all played a great season - including David de Gea. He played a fantastic season," Ten Hag said (via Manchester Evening News).
"Say it like this: we are in the right direction. But there are occasions in the game, issues in the game, we have to improve, definitely, if we want to make the next step and win trophies," he added.
De Gea, 32, joined Manchester United from Atletico Madrid in 2012. He has kept the most clean sheets in the club's history (190 in 545 games). He has won one Premier League title with the club, among other honours.
However, his time at Manchester United might be coming to an end. The Red Devils have been linked with Brentford's David Raya as a potential replacement for De Gea (via Metro).