Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has more or less backed manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s big call to stick with David de Gea as his number one goalkeeper.
Many Red Devils fans will no doubt have been keen to see Dean Henderson get a chance this season after his return to Old Trafford from a highly impressive loan stint at Sheffield United.
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De Gea’s form, meanwhile, has been patchy for a while now, and it’s easy to see how some might think the Spanish shot-stopper is now past his best, despite years of great service to United.
Rooney, however, is backing his old team-mate and thinks De Gea could still have a fine season, even with the pressure of Henderson now being backup and breathing down his neck.
Solskjaer has certainly taken a bit of a gamble on De Gea, but Rooney has written in the Times that he thinks it’s the right move for the club.
“It’s right that Ole is continuing with David De Gea in league matches,” Rooney said. “He’s still one of the best goalkeepers in the world.
“I know him well, a strong character who may seem quiet because he’s rarely in the media but that’s just because he’s not fussed about publicity and doing interviews. Last season was not his finest and there’s this idea that in Dean Henderson he suddenly has “proper competition”.
“I don’t think that’s true: people forget David has had a top-class keeper behind him for the past five years in Sergio Romero. So he can deal with competition.
“The difference with Henderson is that, because he’s English, there’ll be a lot of media pushing for him to play. Henderson clearly has character about him and I’d imagine he’ll be speaking to Ole, saying “put me in”.
“If David makes the mistakes he made last year I’m sure Henderson will get opportunities — but don’t bet against David having a very good season.”