David de Gea’s current form invites questions over his long-term future at Manchester United.
The Spain international had, until recently, positioned himself for an Old Trafford exit. He failed to sign a new contract towards the end of Jose Mourinho’s tenure, and made Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ed Woodward work for him to finally commit.
Eventually signed in September, the contract ended speculation over his immediate plans, but what remains unclear was whether he truly wanted to stay or felt compelled to do so because of a dearth of options elsewhere.
A resurgent Thibaut Courtois is finally convincing at Real Madrid, Keylor Navas is excelling at Paris Saint-Germain, Wojciech Szczesny has done a fine job replacing Gigi Buffon at Juventus, Bayern Munich have already lined up Alexander Nubel to succeed Manuel Neuer, while Barcelona boast Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
De Gea might be locked in for next couple of seasons, and he is both comfortable at United and in Manchester, but he is no fool. He has perhaps five years left at the top of his game, and there are no guarantees that United will challenge for titles during that time.
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In the past, De Gea was a rare bright hope for United. His elasticity meant even the presence of Chris Smalling and Phil Jones ahead of him was not necessarily a disaster. Now, though, things have changed.
Against Manchester City, De Gea was far from United's worst player, but the manner in which Kevin De Bruyne’s shot at goal was parried into the path of the onrushing Andreas Pereira – who was unable to do anything but put through his own net – was worrying.
It may seem harsh to criticise De Gea but, for years, he was close to faultless. This is no longer remotely true. A few weeks ago at Watford, a calamitous error was at the heart of a miserable 2-0 defeat.
There have also been mistakes against Arsenal (twice), Manchester City (again), Chelsea, Crystal Palace and Everton. United’s defence should have become far more resilient with Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Harry Maguire, but they remain blighted by uncertainty and De Gea has not gone unaffected. At times, he has been a contributing factor.
When De Gea first arrived in England, he struggled and was plainly vulnerable. He suffered with overtly physical challenges and became a target at set-pieces. Instead of being cowed, though, he toughened up. Now is the time for him to improve again.
At 29, De Gea has to learn to become a leader. And not by example – at his best, he already he does that. Now he has to organise his back line positionally.
Luke Shaw is unreliable, Victor Lindelof goes into his shell at the sight of a bouncing ball and only Wan-Bissaka is a top-class defender. If Solskjaer and his coaches are not able to improve the defence off the pitch, then they must be better marshalled on it. To date, De Gea has been too quiet and too tepid in this regard.
There is more to do than simply point and shout. De Gea is a world class shot-stopper, perhaps the greatest the country has ever seen, but there should be more to his game by now.
He does not have the distribution to make his defenders' lives easier. The backline, by design or default, plays too far back to pressure other sides. They are not comfortable enough on the ball to make the most of such an approach, but United need a goalkeeper who plays a greater role on the ball.
It does not have to be a radical overhaul of De Gea and United’s approach to the game, but it must be included if they are to match the modern way.
While other clubs struggle to find one decent goalkeeper, it is United’s fortune to have two. There are few positives from Louis van Gaal’s time at the club, but the signing of Sergio Romero has given the club perhaps the best reserve keeper in the Premier League.
Romero had a similarly shaky start to his time at the club, but he has earned many of his 32 clean sheets with the club. His save against Wolves’ Matt Doherty at Molineux on Saturday marked out his own impressive reflexes.
Of course, the Argentine has the advantage of playing in cup games when the opposition is generally less dangerous, but his five seasons at the club have established him as a reliable back-up.
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This season, United’s goal difference is just plus seven. The cost of De Gea’s mistakes are magnified. Of course, the fault lies largely with the club’s lack of goals, but if United continue to lead with a blunt edge, then they must tighten up to make each goal scored count.
The temptation for the most frustrated United fans would be to allow Romero to step in and stake his claim as the club’s first-choice keeper. Solskjaer admitted after the Wolves game that his dependable form is putting pressure on De Gea to perform.
For much of his time at United as manager, Solskjaer has been relentlessly positive. He has praised Paul Pogba despite his failures and made it clear all his starting players have his confidence, in public at least. The notion that De Gea’s place is under threat is, thus, an unusual step for the Norwegian.
Dropping one of the few players left who have experienced success with the club would be extreme. It would also be aggressive to bench a player who has previously considered leaving as it may encourage him to put in a transfer request.
But it would be a chance for Solskjaer to finally show the players that underperformance will not be tolerated.
Saturday's game against Norwich at Old Trafford should be a game when there is little risk in starting Romero, and could refocus all of his players ahead of the following weekend's daunting trip to Anfield to face Premier League leaders Liverpool.
Even if it is for just a few games, it is time that someone at the club pays for failing to reach the required standards.