Jose Mourinho gives verdict on Man United goalkeeper David De Gea
Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho gives his verdict on David De Gea's loss of form at Manchester United
Jose Mourinho says David De Gea was “lucky” that he got a new contract at Manchester United last season after the shot-stopper’s poor performance in Sunday afternoon’s 3-1 loss to Chelsea FC.
The Spain international produced an error-strewn performance in the FA Cup semi-final to cost Manchester United a place in the Wembley showpiece against Arsenal.
De Gea was partly at fault for Olivier Giroud’s opening goal after the France international’s shot trickled through De Gea’s hands in the first half.
The Manchester United number one parried Mason Mount’s shot into the net in the second half to effectively end the Old Trafford outfit’s hopes of reaching the FA Cup final.
Chelsea FC completed their rout when Harry Maguire scored an own goal before Bruno Fernandes netted a consolation from the penalty spot with five minutes left to play.
De Gea was criticised for his poor handling in Manchester United’s 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur last month after he pushed Steven Bergwijn’s effort into his own net.
The Red Devils goalkeeper has consistently made mistakes over the past three seasons despite De Gea being widely considered the Premier League’s top goalkeeper between 2013 and 2017.
De Gea started to endure a dip in form towards the end of Mourinho’s two-and -a-half year rein at Manchester United.
The Tottenham boss reckons that De Gea was fortunate to get such a lucrative contract last season given his poor form.
“De Gea? I think the moment when he signed his huge contract, is the moment I don’t think United needs to pay as much as that to have him,” Mourinho told Sky Sports, as quoted by the Daily Mail.
“One or two years ago he had the world after him, in this moment, the majority of the big doors were closed.
“The Real Madrid door is closed, they don’t need a goalkeeper after [Thibaut] Courtois. Barcelona is closed with young and fantastic [Marc-Andre] ter Stegen and Paris Saint-Germain is closed too as they signed Keylor Navas who is a very good goalkeeper.”
Manchester United will return to Premier League action on Wednesday night when the Red Devils welcome West Ham to Old Trafford in their penultimate game of the 2019-20 season.
The Red Devils will host top-four rivals Leicester City in their final Premier League game of the campaign on Sunday.
