Manchester United legend Gary Neville has expressed his delight at the return of David de Gea in between the sticks.
The Spanish goalkeeper made his first start of the new Barclays Premier League season in the 3-1 victory over bitter rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford on Saturday evening after signing a new four-year-deal with the club only a day before.
It had appeared the 24-year-old was set to leave the club during the summer as a deal to take him to Liga BBVA giants Real Madrid on transfer deadline day had been agreed, however, it fell through at the last minute due to the paperwork not being processed in time.
Upon his return to the starting XI after missing the first six games of the campaign, de Gea underlined his quality by pulling off a number of fine stops and Neville insists United will benefit from having their first choice stopper in goal for the remainder of the season:
“It’s a big thing for Manchester United to have him stay for the rest of this season,” the former defender said on his Sky Sports podcast.
“He made a really good save at the end from Jordon Ibe, so I think when you look at it and think about De Gea [against Liverpool], he will save Manchester United points.”
“He’s a match-winning goalkeeper, and Manchester United have had too many experiences – good and bad over the years – around goalkeepers.”
“When they had Peter Schmeichel and Edwin van der Sar, it’s looked rock solid. De Gea in the last couple of years has been fantastic,” Neville added.
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