‘De Gea is United’s biggest weakness’ says ex-Man United star

Nicholas Hughes

• Updated: 19 May 2021 14:09 BST
• 3 min read

David De Gea is proving to be a liability for Manchester United according to former star midfielder Paul Scholes.

The club legend said that manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has a big decision to make over the goalkeeping with the Spaniard continuing to underperform.

“I think that is the biggest weakness in this team [the goalkeeping position],” Scholes said on BT Sport.

“David again, so sloppy, it’s becoming a real problem.”

Scholes’ comments came in the aftermath of United’s 3-1 win over Newcastle at Old Trafford, with De Gea failing to convince in his ability to stop the goal.

A winner of 11 Premier League titles with the Red Devils, Scholes questioned whether De Gea could have claimed either of two corners that led to the goal – an Allan Saint-Maximin finish that had the Spaniard scrambling at his near post.

“David again, can you catch that?” Scholes wondered of the No.1 in the lead-up to the goal.

De Gea won United’s player of the year three years in a row and four times in five years between 2014 and 2018, form that brought about the infamous fax dilemma that stopped him from moving to Real Madrid.

Since then, however, the 30-year-old has appeared to regress and has become prone to errors leading to goals – according to Football Critic, only Jordan Pickford (11) and Martin Dubravka (9) have made more than De Gea’s eight errors directly leading to a goal.

Aside from goalkeeping issues, Scholes sees a lack of quality at centre-back for United and believes strength in that position should be first priority for the club.

De Gea’s struggles continue at United

“I think that they’re missing a real dominant centre-back,” he said.

“I think Maguire possibly could be but I think they need somebody with him who could be really dominant in that position, really commanding, can bully a centre-forward.”

The Red Devils have kept just eight clean sheets in their 25 Premier League games so far this season, shipping 32 goals in the process, equal with the 11^th worst defensive record in the league.

The clean sheet record is not good enoughPaul Scholes

Further forward though, Scholes heaped praise on the talent at Solskjaer’s disposal, with particular adulation for Scott McTominay and Paul Pogba in midfield.

Scholes also backed Mason Greenwood to become a “superstar” at Old Trafford in what has been a “coming of age” season for the youngster so far.