Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been urged to drop goalkeeper David de Gea for the upcoming game against Chelsea.
The Spain international has not been at his best this season, and had another particularly poor game in the 2-0 home defeat to Manchester City, making a mistake for the Leroy Sane goal at Old Trafford.
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And now Andy Dunn of the Daily Mirror believes it’s time for Solskjaer to be brave and make a statement by dropping De Gea for the weekend game against Chelsea.
United have Sergio Romero waiting in reserve, and he looks a more than capable backup, with Dunn believing he’s now earned his chance for this big match.
‘If Ole Gunnar Solskjaer really is the man to take Manchester United forward, he has one decision to make ahead of Sunday’s game against Chelsea. Drop David de Gea,’ Dunn wrote in his column.
‘Drop one of the best goalkeepers in a club history studded with great goalkeepers.
‘De Gea, who owes United nothing, has become a distracted, slow-moving symbol of the team’s startling mediocrity.
‘There were two (mistakes) in Wednesday night’s Manchester derby defeat, when he fell like diseased timber in his attempt to keep out Bernardo Silva’s clever but relatively tame daisy-cutter and then shinned home a Leroy Sane shot that was powerful enough but was also straight at him.
‘It might seem harsh but, on the clear evidence of form, De Gea is a liability.
‘It is not as though Solskjaer does not have a credible alternative.
‘Sergio Romero, in his occasional appearances, has rarely let United down.
‘His clean-sheet percentage record of 63 is excellent, even allowing for the opposition normally not being of the standard De Gea faces week in, week out. At 32, he is at a prime age for a goalkeeper and he’s got 96 caps for Argentina.’