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Former Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves has strongly hinted that Erik ten Hag needs to get rid of David de Gea so as to implement the brand of football he wishes at Old Trafford.
Hargreaves was speaking after United’s devastating 3-0 defeat at the hands of Sevilla – a result that effectively eliminated the Red Devils from the Europa League.
Huge mistakes from De Gea were ruthlessly punished by Sevilla who were all too happy with the gifted goals handed to them.
De Gea’s weaknesses were on full display against the Spanish team and according to Hargreaves, De Gea’s limitations make him an imperfect fit for Ten Hag’s football philosophy.
In the past, Ten Hag has shown a clear preference for modern goalkeepers with the ability to sweep, play with their feet and command their boxes by claiming crosses. These are all things De Gea fails at spectacularly.
The United boss has however repeatedly stated in public that he is happy with De Gea and is keen to continue working with the Spaniard.
After the Sevilla defeat, Ten Hag launched another defence of De Gea and pointed to the 32-year-old currently leading the Premier League chart for most clean sheets as evidence that he is a top-class shot-stopper still capable of playing at the highest level.
Ten Hag on De Gea being No 1 next season + beyond: “He is the one with the most clean sheets in the Premier League, that shows he is a very capable goalkeeper.” #MUFC
— Laurie Whitwell (@lauriewhitwell) April 20, 2023
Hargreaves told BT Sport, “First of all, David de Gea has been an incredible servant for this football club. He’s been a brilliant goalkeeper and he’s a brilliant shot-stopper.
“But he is not good with his feet and it showed tonight and it has showed on numerous occasions this season. We know Erik ten Hag wants to play out, he wants to get the ball down and play. The first goal came from that and so did the third to a lesser extent.
Hargreaves added, “They are huge moments that they need to fix obviously. So the question is, does he fit Erik ten Hag’s philosophy? Based on today you would say no, it didn’t look right.”
“I think he was making the whole team nervous!”
“It’s a question of: does he fit Erik ten Hag’s philosophy?”
Paul Scholes and Owen Hargreaves break down David De Gea’s performance vs. Sevilla and his future at Man Utd 🧤
🎙️ @julesbreach #UEL pic.twitter.com/cWZmlU5ZqS
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 20, 2023
Hargreaves noted that United lost the game during the second half at Old Trafford where they threw away a two-goal lead to give Sevilla an avenue back into the game.
As per the former United man, the tie was lost even before stepping foot at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium.
“This was lost in the second half at Old Trafford. They could have been up three or four-nil. They could have been out of sight. Instead, they got punished tonight.”
For United, attention now turns to the FA Cup semi-final clash vs. Brighton at Wembley on Sunday.
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