One of the major reasons why Manchester United fans have been worried over the past three seasons has been whether David de Gea would extend his stay at Manchester. The Spanish shot-stopper has been excellent between the sticks for United, delivering some stupendous performances along the way to become arguably the best goalkeeper in European football as of now.
Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, DDG has been United’s best player on the field, regularly bailing the team out from difficult situations with aplomb ease. His shot stopping has been tremendous, as no one can make reflex saves better than he in Europe can. Moreover, the consistency with which he has delivered such breathtaking performances just goes on to highlight his sustainability and the concentration that he maintains during matches.
Last Premier League season, in particular, saw him delivering some unmatchable performances at an alarming consistency. His saves against Alexis Sanchez, Sergio Aguero, Christian Benteke and Joel Matip further demonstrated his mental strength and ability to churn out his best performances whenever the team required him the most. Moreover, DDG capped off the season with the Golden Glove after having maintained 18 clean sheets throughout the course of the season. Just fathom the fact that for the majority of the time, he played behind a backline led by the likes of Chris Smalling and Phil Jones with makeshift fullbacks like Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young too.
DDG has won over the fans at Old Trafford with his consistent displays all through the years. I doubt that currently there would be any other goalkeeper in the world who would have been so crucial to the team’s final league position over the years more than de Gea. The responsibility that he has had to carry over the years to ensure that United’s feeble defence got out unscathed through matches is simply commendable. He has a commanding presence over the backline and is someone who hardly ever loses concentration after large spells of time.
The saves against Benteke and Aguero came after spells of time in which United were attacking completely and he had to make the saves after a considerable amount of time. His concentration level is unmatchable in the league, and so is his shot stopping. De Gea is capable of making stupendous saves from the short and long range and has improved with the possession of the ball too.
There has been persistent interest from Real Madrid over the years, with every summer transfer window bringing up new tales of how DDG would move back to his home country. However, the amount of respect that he has garnered over at England is beautiful for the fans, and hence from a personal point of view too the reports that DDG has extended his contract with Manchester United will come as a smashing boost for all involved.