David de Gea's recent form may not have earned him many fans in Manchester (or, well, anywhere) but one person who remains convinced of the Spaniard's credentials is Leicester keeper Kasper Schmeichel.
De Gea, once widely viewed as one of the best around, has seen his stock plummet over the past couple of years. A series of inconsistent performances strewn with high-profile errors, most recently in the FA Cup defeat to Chelsea, have thrown his United future into doubt - especially with highly-rated England hopeful Dean Henderson waiting in the wings.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, however, has stood by his number one, and now Schmeichel - son of legendary Man Utd stopper Peter - has launched a passionate defence of the Spain international.
"It can be very difficult and you've got to remember, and this is with absolutely no disrespect to journalists or pundits, but you've actually never stood in that goal," Schmeichel told Sky Sports ahead of the decisive final-day clash between Leicester and United.
"You would classify things as mistakes or errors, and there are things that are glaring sometimes, but often this narrative can be created around a goalkeeper because it's the pundits and journalists' job to educate and that's their job.
"They're telling their educated opinions about goalkeeping, things like hand positions, feet positions, technical things which sometimes is quite damaging to a goalkeeper.
Allison has 1 more clean sheet than De Gea ? pic.twitter.com/BG5bos5X6y
— Ben Scattergood (@benskat1) July 23, 2020
"You hear comments like, 'going with the wrong hand', or other throw-away things that they'll say which will make the consumer or viewer think, 'oh yeah, that's right, I see he's done it again'.
"That's sometimes quite a dangerous narrative because all of a sudden it starts building momentum and for someone like David, I really feel for him because he has been unbelievable for so many years and every goalkeeper goes through periods [of poor form]."
Schmeichel went on, discussing the prospect of Henderson, and how that adds to the pressure on De Gea. The 23-year-old is enjoying an astonishing Premier League debut with Sheffield United, and has been touted to return to Old Trafford after the summer and oust him for the starting spot between the sticks.
"There is a lot of pressure also in the sense that you now have an England goalkeeper coming through and, like it or not, in this country when you have an English goalkeeper, that means so much and they really do tend to build them up.
"I genuinely hope for someone like Dean Henderson, who's had an amazing season, that he can be allowed to develop. I hope for him, he gets another season, maybe two at Sheffield United and play the way he's done and then he'll be ready.
"But for now, David de Gea is still a world-class goalkeeper. It's a lonely position and those are the margins you play in as a goalkeeper - you simply cannot make mistakes because you will be punished."
Source : 90min