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| Gareth Bale |
The speculation suggesting Manchester United could sacrifice David De Gea in an attempt to sign Gareth Bale from Real Madrid is ridiculous. Why would they do such a thing when, in Memphis Depay, they have a player who could be even better than Bale?
Depay is 21 and has achieved more at his age than Bale had; he is a better player at this stage of his development. Depay comes to United as the top scorer in his domestic league and having impressed at a World Cup so United should be far from desperate to sign the Welshman from Real Madrid, certainly not to the extent that they would lose De Gea in the process.
If I was Bale I would stay in Spain. He needs to stay and prove a point for himself after having a difficult second season. He has to fight his corner and returning to England as soon as things got tough wouldn’t be a good move.
Ultimately he will be seen as a world-record flop if he leaves now. He has to stick with it and I don’t think he will leave this summer.
There’s talk that De Gea has been offered as much as £200,000 per week as United look to hold onto him. I don’t think any footballer is worth that much – not compared to someone who saves someone’s life every day – but inside the football world, he is worth it. He is a massive commodity for the club.
If De Gea left I think Manchester United would have to go out and buy a world-class keeper, and how many of those are available? He could command a world-record fee for a goalkeeper but if you can’t buy a replacement, then that’s not much help.
De Gea should really give United another season. He should see who the club bring in this summer and what that says about their ambition. You also have to be sure what Real Madrid’s intentions are – if Casillas stays, then is he guaranteed the No. 1 jersey? Logically it would go to De Gea, but Madrid are governed by politics, not logic, and let’s not forget that Casillas is still picked ahead of him for Spain. There’s no point going to Madrid to be a back-up.
In football, and in life in general, it’s nice to be somewhere you are loved and adored and De Gea shouldn’t underestimate that. Yes, he could join perhaps the biggest club in the world, but will he have the same adulation? Look at what’s happened to Bale at the Bernabeu, and how the fans have turned on him.
There was talk that Victor Valdes had been signed as De Gea’s replacement but he hasn’t had a sniff yet. Van Gaal likes continuity with his goalkeepers, unlike other teams who keep switching them around for different competitions. United can’t do that because you need a stable back four to do that.
I don’t agree with it. You don’t have to rest a goalkeeper and they like to play week in, week out because their best form of training is reaction training and there’s no substitute like the biggest games. I don’t understand it when I see Barcelona use Marc-Andre ter Stegen for the Champions League and Claudio Bravo for La Liga. It doesn’t make a lot of sense. Your No. 1 is your No. 1.
I didn’t agree when Phil Jones said De Gea is the best in the world at the moment – that’s a rash comment and maybe he wasn’t thinking straight after running around for a while. De Gea is a great shot stopper and he has certainly had a lot of practice this season, but you have to judge him on the biggest stages, when Manchester United are at their peak and trying to win the Champions League. You judge a goalkeeper during the times he is redundant.
Keepers like Manuel Neuer have to maintain their concentration for vast swathes of matches when the ball is in the opposition half and then they are suddenly called upon to make a world-class save. Iker Casillas was the same at his peak.
Thibaut Courtois has been the same at Chelsea, and if you are looking to identify the best goalkeeper in England, it has to be him. He excels despite having long spells of having nothing to do. De Gea has been kept active at all times.
He’s clearly been Manchester United’s best player though. They say a good goalkeeper is worth 10 points, and De Gea might be worth even more. He has won them more games than any goalscorer and is the main reason they are in the top four at all.
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