Erik ten Hag had doubts about David de Gea from his first day in charge of Manchester United, but towards the end of last season it reached the point of no return. Last summer, Ten Hag’s first in charge, he decided he had inherited bigger problems than a goalkeeper who wasn’t entirely comfortable with the ball at his feet and instead spent his transfer budget on a centre-back, a left-back, a midfielder and a winger.
When Ten Hag sat down with football director John Murtough early this year to decide how to spend this summer’s money, the prevailing opinion was that he could live with De Gea as his No.1 for another year. But then he changed his mind.
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Mistakes against Sevilla, West Ham and in the FA Cup final against Manchester City convinced Ten Hag that it was time for a change. In the end, it was De Gea who announced his exit on Saturday, but only after realising that, had he stayed, his role would have been greatly reduced. De Gea’s social media posts were swiftly followed by a club statement in which Murtough said De Gea would “leave Manchester United with the deepest respect and warmest appreciation of everyone associated with the club.” But Ten Hag, for one, will be relieved he’s gone.
If he gets his way, Inter goalkeeper Andre Onana will arrive to take De Gea’s place, although there still needs to be a compromise over the transfer fee. United are looking at other targets while Dean Henderson, back from his loan spell at Nottingham Forest, is also being considered, but Onana is Ten Hag’s first choice, having worked together at Ajax.
