Solskjaer claims De Gea is 'the best goalkeeper in the world'
Man Utd head coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has defended under-fire David de Gea, insisting his goalkeeper remains the best in the world between the sticks.
Following his performance against Tottenham on Friday which saw him concede from Steven Bergwijn after a weak attempted save, pundit Roy Keane said he would be 'throwing punches' in the Man Utd dressing room, while Gary Neville insisted the downturn in form from De Gea was not simply 'a blip'.
However Solskjaer, a former team-mate of Keane and Neville, says the Spaniard is world class.
⚽ Neville on David De Gea form: 'It's more than just a blip'
"I don't think it is a bad run when you concede two goals in seven games, which included matches against Man City, Chelsea, Tottenham and Everton. Everton was a freak goal," said Solskjaer.
"On Friday he might have saved it, he might not. But he makes great saves for us. He wins games for us. I still think he is best goalkeeper in the world."
Adding to the pressure on De Gea is the performances of Dean Henderson at Sheffield United, with the Englishman putting in superb showings whilst on loan from the Red Devils.
Solskjaer believes he is a future No. 1 for the club, but didn’t elaborate as to when he thinks it would happen.
"He has had a fantastic season. One day he will be England and United number one," he said.
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It's a very 'press-conference' thing for Solskjaer to say De Gea is the best in the world; the statement may have been true at one point but the data suggests otherwise.
Even when comparing De Gea to Henderson, as we did on FC just last week, there's a real issue for Ole in terms of who is performing better - let alone doubling down to claim De Gea is the best in the world.
Based on our FC Ratings, which grade players on a week-by-week basis based on their form and performances in their last 20 matches, we rank De Gea at #41 in the world, miles behind Alisson at #1 and also behind a slew of other Premier League goalkeepers.
FC's Top 50 Goalkeepers in the World
It's one thing for Ole to defend his man, quite another to claim he's better than many other shot-stoppers performing to a higher level at this moment in time.
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⚽ Are David De Gea's days at Man United numbered?