Rio Ferdinand issues his verdict on Man United first-choice goalkeeper next season after David de Gea Europa final penalty miss.
Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has given his verdict regarding the first choice goalkeeper at Old Trafford-based club.
Ferdinand, who has been vocal over United dismal performance in the Europa League final, where they lost to Unai Emery’s Villarreal, who were perceived as underdogs, has insisted that Dean Henderson has ‘not done enough’ to succeed David de Gea as Manchester United’s No. 1 goalkeeper.
England international Henderson has been battling De Gea for the No. 1 spot at Old Trafford throughout the second half of the 2020-21 seson.
It seemed as though Henderson was edging De Gea out in the beginning in the month, but it was the Spaniard who began Manchester United’s Europa League final against Villarreal on Wednesday night, although he did little in the game to solidify his position in the club for next summer.
After the final finished 1-1, De Gea failed to gather any of Villarreal’s 11 penalties – including a strike from rival shot-stopper Geronimo Rulli – before fumbling his spot-kick to mark the end of a marathon shootout.
De Gea’s crash in the penalty shootout has sparked appeals for Henderson to be United’s first-choice goalkeeper next summer and Ferdinand has now weighed into the discussion.
Asked who he thinks should be Manchester United’s No. 1 next term, Ferdinand told FIVE:
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“I just don’t think Dean Henderson has done enough to drag the No. 1 shirt off of David de Gea, that’s my thoughts.
“If he came in and set the world completely alight you’d have no problems with making him No. 1. But I don’t think he’s come in and hit everyone between the eyes with his form.
“I think he’s got potential but is it for right now? David missed the penalty tonight, does that mean he’s not the right goalkeeper? I don’t think that should determine whether you’re No. 1 or not.
“If you give it to Henderson, what’s it based on? He didn’t cover himself in glory against Liverpool [in a 4-2 defeat at Old Trafford earlier this month].
“David was great against Roma [in the Europa League semi-finals], they could have scored six goals if it wasn’t for him in goal.
“David hasn’t saved a penalty since 2016 so to expect him to go into that shootout and pull up trees is a bit unrealistic given his record.”
The Red Devils were the remarkable favorites going into the Europa League final but saw themselves pursuing the underdogs after Gerard Moreno jabbed home from a free-kick.
The Premier League club answered after half-time – Edinson Cavani maintaining his fine form with the equalizer – but Villarreal kept United at bay for the rest of the match.
Speaking after the loss, Red Devils boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted the season had not been a breakthrough for Manchester United after they failed to win a trophy and ended second in the Premier League.
Questioned if this campaign had been a success for his team, Solskjaer said:
“No. We need to get better, simple as.
“We’ve done really well this season coming through. The start was difficult. We had no pre-season and lost three of the first six.
“We pushed in the league, maybe got closer to the top than we thought and we got to a final. But you need to win the finals to make it a good season.
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Rio Ferdinand issues his verdict on Man United first-choice goalkeeper next season after David de Gea Europa final penalty miss.
