De Gea drops hint on long-term Man Utd future amid Henderson pressure

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David De Gea’s starting spot at Man Utd has never been under as much pressure as it is now due to the rise of on-loan goalkeeper Dean Henderson, and the Spaniard has dropped a hint on what the future holds.

De Gea, 29, developed into one of the finest goalkeepers the Premier League has seen after overcoming his early initial struggles.

One of the few remaining holdovers from the Sir Alex Ferguson era, De Gea is a veritable veteran in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s blossoming young squad.

His exceptional performances earned him five PFA team of the year selections between 2012 and 2018, but his standards have taken a dramatic nosedive over the past 18 months.

On-loan Sheffield Utd goalkeeper Dean Henderson, meanwhile, has burst onto the scene in the Blades’ return to the top flight.

His displays have seen the clamour for an England call-up grow, while some have even speculated he could replace De Gea between the sticks at Old Trafford next season, though legendary keeper Peter Schmeichel isn’t so sure.

Despite a number of uncharacteristic errors, Utd boss Solskjaer has remained loyal to De Gea, sticking by him rather than call upon back-up Sergio Romero in the league.

Now, speaking on a goalkeeper’s hangout on United’s official App (via the Mirror), De Gea hinted that he foresees his long-term future at the club despite the mounting pressure from Henderson.

“Just to be part of this club is amazing, so imagine to be here for nearly 10 years. It’s like a dream.

“It’s great to play games with this club, so I hope I can be here for [many] more years.”

 

Regarding football’s hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Spaniard took a pragmatic and mature view of the situation.

“It’s something special to always be at home.

“But I think now the most important thing is the health of the people, in Spain and here in England as well.

“So, while it’s a bit strange, but we need to keep doing some things at home, to keep training, to keep fit, for when we get back, but it’s a bit strange.

“My family is very good. At the moment, all my friends and family are all good, but there are a lot of people who are in a difficult situation with the virus and with everything.

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“What’s happening now is something unreal, but that’s life at the moment, so I want to send a strong message to them to keep fighting, and hopefully everything is going to finish soon.

When asked if he had a message for the Utd faithful, De Gea replied: “The first thing is to be patient. Of course, it’s a very hard situation.

“To be at home is the most important thing at the moment, be safe. Everything is going to finish at some point, so just be safe.”

Meanwhile, Solskjaer reportedly had a nine-player strong shortlist of potential acquisitions before Ed Woodward scuppered his plans.