Gary Neville Gives Two Reasons Why De Gea Will Start The Season As Number One Ahead Of Henderson

Gary Neville Gives Two Reasons Why De Gea Will Start The Season As Number One Ahead Of Henderson

Ex-Manchester United defender Gary Neville believes manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will choose David De Gea to start in goal this season, despite the return of Dean Henderson to the club.

The Sky Sports pundit cites two reasons why the Spaniard will remain first choice. Firstly, he feels Solskjaer would have dropped the 29-year-old last season, if he didn’t have any faith in his abilities, and there’s no reason for him to change his mind now:

“De Gea definitely starts as number one because there was a point where Ole could’ve dropped him towards the end of the season. However, he stuck with him at that point and we are only around four weeks later.”


Neville then cites a second reason which is to do with Henderson’s lack of experience of playing for United. He feels it is very different playing for the Red Devils than it is for a midtable team like Sheffield United:

“He hasn’t got the experience yet to handle Old Trafford or to show us that he can handle Old Trafford. We hope he can show the potential he’s got but that’s the hardest position on a football field by a long way. It’s the biggest pressure on a football field and I think the Manchester United goalkeeping position, I would argue, is one of the most pressurised positions in English football.”

Both are valid points but neither address an important question. Based on form and ability, who is the better keeper at the moment? Many supporters would probably say Henderson, but from what Neville tells us, it’s likely that reputation will be the deciding factor in this battle.