Oblak is the only man who can replace De Gea, but Man Utd should stick with their No.1 - Ferdinand

BetOdds Manchester United David de Gea Premier League Jan Oblak Atlético Madrid

An ex-Red Devil does not think his old club should give up on the struggling shot-stopper despite his latest underwhelming performance

Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak is the only man who can replace David de Gea, according to Rio Ferdinand, but he thinks Manchester United should stick by their current No.1 for the time being.

De Gea has hit headlines throughout the 2019-20 for a number of high-profile mistakes between the sticks, the latest of which came during a huge semi-final showdown against Chelsea in the FA Cup.

The Spain international conceded two very soft goals as the Blues ran out 3-1 winners at Wembley, and has been hit with a barrage of criticism following United's exit from the competition.

Ex-Red Devils midfielder Paul Ince has suggested Ole Gunnar Solskjaer should recall Dean Henderson from his loan spell at Sheffield United ahead of the 2020-2021 campaign, stating: "He needs to give De Gea that challenge and drive, and this lad could be the answer.

"Henderson's got the hunger and desire to get into that top spot at United."

However, Ferdinand doesn't think the Englishman is quite ready to step up to the plate at Old Trafford, and says that unless his old club are willing to fork out an extortionate fee on Atletico shot-stopper Oblak, De Gea should be trusted to turn his form around.

"Who are you going to get that is out there right now? Dean Henderson is a young goalkeeper, it's a big gamble," the former United defender told BT Sport.

"Who is out there right now that could be bought, that is able to be a world-class goalkeeper at Manchester United? The only one I see is Oblak but can you get him out of Atletico Madrid?

"If you do, how much would you have to spend? An obscene amount of money. I say, stick with [De Gea]. He's earned the right to be stuck with."

Ferdinand concedes that De Gea cannot be excused for his latest set of errors, but believes his old team-mate still has the necessary "character" to get back to his best and prove his critics wrong.

"When people make mistakes, they're open to criticism, that's just the way football is," the 41-year-old added. "David de Gea is not the exception. He's made mistakes, glaring mistakes in big games. Notably, the game yesterday in the semi-final against Chelsea at Wembley.

"Yes, he should be doing better. I've played with David, he's his own biggest critic. He'll be sitting at home going through the situations to make sure he gets rid of these mistakes that he's making at the moment.

"I watched the game with my boys at home and I was flabbergasted to see them go past David because he's a top-drawer goalkeeper. It's disappointing. As a Manchester United fan, you want to defend your players but he's not in a position to be defended.

"Has David de Gea been making mistakes? Yes, he has. Is he low on confidence? Yes, he is. Has he got the character to come back, has he proved his character in years gone by? Yes, he has.

"He came to Manchester United as a 19-year-old. Question marks straight away, 'is he good enough, is he too slim, is he too frail? He's not ready to be Manchester United's goalkeeper'. He dispelled all of those comments through hard work, determination and quality.

"He's been Player of the Year four of the last six years. When there was inconsistencies at Manchester United, he was the consistent factor. Yes, he's had a bad spell, confidence is low, does that mean you get rid of him?"

2020-07-21 18:00:06

Comments

Send Your Comment

Download Application