3 Clean Sheets, 1.7 Saves Per game – 3 Reasons Why Manchester United Should Hold On To This Spaniard At Any Cost

Manchester United have not had the best of season’s till date, Louis Van Gaal was brought in to bring back the glory days at Manchester but those days still seem far off. The players needed time to bed in and 3 months was what Van Gaal asked for, in terms of patience before judging his team but a spate of average performances have really brought out that Manchester United are more like limp noodles trying to pass off as the best pasta in a Michelin starred restaurant.

It really does not help if your goalkeeper is the best player at the club, having a good or great goalkeeper is something that every club should aspire to have but relying on him and him alone to gain you points will eventually not work out. Manchester United have invested time in David de Gea, the Spanish goalkeeper who started off without much confidence but now has become a mainstay and one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League.

Recently, a lot of discussion has taken place with De Gea in the middle, ever since he replaced Iker Casillas as the Spanish number 1 against Luxemburg in a Euro 2016 qualifier, the papers have gone nuts by printing stories that David de Gea could be on his way to replace St. Iker at Real Madrid but whatever the price or the deal should be, even if it includes Gareth Bale, Manchester United should not sell David de Gea and here are 3 reasons why.

1. The investment is finally paying off

Manchester United paid a reported £18 million pounds for the Spanish player from Atletico Madrid in 2011. That seemed like a lot of money for a decent goalkeeper who was good at stopping shots but average at everything else. He had quite a few problems adjusting to the physicality of the game initially and often was caught out on crosses but David de Gea has worked a lot with the United staff and now is stronger in the air when collecting crosses than he was earlier. They have also worked on beefing the player up and this has shown with his improvement in dealing with balls in the box.

2. The one good thing about United

Of all the positions in the team, the goalkeeping department or at least the first choice goalkeeper is young and in the prime of his life. David de Gea is only 24 years old and has spent 3 years at Manchester United, he is pretty used to the rigors of the Premier League and replacing him now would be hara-kiri. De Gea is one of the best goalkeepers in the World and him staying at United for a few more years is the one thing that all United fans would want, their attack doesn’t contain any young players, they need a rebuilding of the midfield and they do not have a good defence either.

3. One of the best in the league

The stats don’t lie about David de Gea, he may not be leading the Premier League with the most clean sheets but most goalkeepers would struggle trying to keep clean sheets with the injury list at United. His performance against Everton was outstanding where he single or double handedly kept Everton out to give United the win.

De Gea has played 11 games this season, the same as two top goalkeepers who are about the same age as De Gea, Thibaut Courtois and Fraser Forster of Chelsea and Southampton respectively. While Forster leads the Premier League with the most clean sheets, 7 in 11 games, in terms of saves per game and distribution accuracy it is De Gea leading the pair with 1.73 saves per game and 70% distribution accuracy and and he had steered United to secure 3 clean sheets this season even with all their defensive problems. (Stats from Squawka.com)

De Gea might not be the best goalkeeper in the World but his growth has been remarkable and Manchester United selling the Spanish goalkeeper would really be a huge loss for them.