Owen Hargreaves has singled out David De Gea for special praise and claims that the Manchester United goalkeeper is “back to his best”.
The Spaniard has started the new season strongly after having struggled to find consistent form last term as he ended up being replaced by Dean Henderson at times during the campaign.
De Gea was limited to 26 starts for Manchester United in the Premier League last season but he has quickly reestablished himself as the club’s first choice between the posts this season with some confident performances.
The shot-stopper has started all of Manchester United’s games in the Premier League and Champions League so far this term – and he helped the Red Devils to claim a dramatic 2-1 victory over Villarreal at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.
The 30-year-old saved six of the seven shots he faced in the Champions League group-stage clash at Old Trafford as Cristiano Ronaldo’s 95th-minute winner sealed the three points for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.
And former Manchester United star Hargreaves feels that De Gea has now started to find some of the form that originally helped him to establish himself as the club’s number one goalkeeper.
Speaking to BT Sport, as quoted by the Daily Mail, Hargreaves said: “He made so many big saves. David de Gea was one of the most important players and he’s been fabulous this season, obviously taking over from Dean Henderson.
“They can rely on him, he’s back to his best. And when you have [Edinson] Cavani and Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes and [Paul] Pogba at the top of the pitch, you can find a way to win games late.”
De Gea also earned praise from his manager, who claimed that he had proved himself as the best goalkeeper in the world with his performance.
Solskjaer said after the final whistle: “Thankfully, we had the best goalkeeper in the world tonight. David was fantastic and I was very happy with his performance.”
Next up for Manchester United is a home Premier League clash against Everton at Old Trafford on Saturday lunchtime, as De Gea aims to start his seventh top-flight game of the campaign.