FansBet ambassador and former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson has labelled David De Gea the best player in his position on the planet.
De Gea has made 339 appearances for Manchester United since joining from Atletico Madrid in 2011, winning the Premier League, the FA Cup, the League Cup and the Europa League for the Red Devils.
Is De Gea the best goalkeeper in the world? Four things to know…
- De Gea is often cited as the best goalkeeper currently playing and was a key reason behind Man United’s second place finish in the Premier League last season.
- The Spaniard endured a difficult World Cup in the summer and has already conceded more league goals this term (31) than he did in the entirety of the previous campaign.
- The likes of Alisson Becker, Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Jan Oblak have all had an excellent year, threatening De Gea’s reputation as the best around.
- But De Gea continues to impress, with Robinson claiming he has already pulled off “the save of the season” against Young Boys.
Robinson told the Squawka Talker podcast: “De Gea is the best in the world for me, at the moment, because he has been so consistent for such a long time for Manchester United.
“He produced the save of the season, if not for longer than that, against Young Boys at Old Trafford. Where there’s a shot from the edge of the box that takes two deflections, and he doesn’t react till the ball’s past the six-yard box. Then he dives backwards and pulls it off the line.”
De Gea initially struggled upon his arrival in England, making a string of mistakes that saw many label him a flop despite his lack of experience.
But Robinson thinks it’s understandable that De Gea took a bit of time to adapt to the Premier League.
“We forget the criticism he came under when he first moved to the Premier League,” he added. “Eric Steele, the goalkeeper coach at the time, stood by him in the press, did a lot of press, said, ‘Give this lad time, he’s going to be one of the best, if not the best in the world’. And he’s been proven right.
“De Gea had a tough first year, but the Premier League is a different league; there are high balls, the pace of the game, different elements, and it took him 12 months to adjust, but he’s certainly adjusted now. Yes, he’s smaller than an average goalkeeper if you like, he’s slighter.
“But his distribution, his shot-stopping. He doesn’t come off his line for every cross or every ball, he doesn’t look big and commanding, but when he does he picks his way through and he gets the ball, and for me he’s consistently been the best.”
“Van Dijk has completely transformed Liverpool”
Like De Gea, Liverpool’s Alisson moved to the Premier League this summer with no previous experience of English football.
The Brazilian has settled remarkably quickly, conceding just seven goals in his first 19 Premier League appearances, but Robinson believes it’s too early to judge the Liverpool star.
“Alisson’s come in and he’s done OK so far, but I’m going to reserve judgement on him as he’s still young,” he said. “Wojciech Szczesny kept him out of the team for a season and he only played 37 league games at Roma.
“Liverpool had two decent goalkeepers who were struggling with confidence. They needed a top-class goalkeeper, and they got one. And he needs to live up to that now. He needs to perform week in, week out, and earn them points, as De Gea does for Man United.”
Robinson suggests Virgil van Dijk, signed for £75m six months before Alisson joined from Roma, is the most vital component of Liverpool’s defence.
He added: “The important signing Liverpool made was Van Dijk. He has completely transformed their fortunes defensively. He’s brought Joe Gomez onto another level. He’s improved as a player no end. The two full-backs, as well. Liverpool going forward was never in question, but what Van Dijk has done for that back four is vitally important.”
The post David De Gea is still the world’s best goalkeeper, says Paul Robinson appeared first on Squawka News.
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