Manchester United’s skipper Harry Maguire seems to have just dropped a hint on his uneasy relationship with David de Gea in a surprising interview.
Inappropriate though it would have been to spill the beans on any of his peers in the squad, Maguire did an extensive and honest interview this week. He candidly discussed his form, the club’s disastrous season, his love for the club and other relevant issues.
The league’s most expensive defender seemed to have an aura of self-awareness in the interview and was lucid in conducting himself, which hasn’t always been the case with Maguire. His pre-match interview before Liverpool whitewashed United for the second time this season was a classic case of a player failing to see the white elephant in the room.
Maguire has clearly endured the most traumatic season of his career but thankfully his nightmare is finally over. Obviously he will benefit from a much-needed summer break more than his teammates.
Erik ten Hag apparently has high expectations of Maguire and it seems he can only improve next term as his performances couldn’t possibly get much worse than what they’d been. The skipper admitted in his interview with The Times that he hasn’t spoken yet with Ten Hag and that wasn’t a surprise – however his views on United’s best player this season was.
Reflecting on United’s drab season he named Cristiano Ronaldo as the only player that has consistently performed.
“We were nowhere near good enough throughout the season. We were conceding too many goals, not scoring enough goals,” Maguire said.
“And it just spiralled. You could see towards the end of the season, the confidence wasn’t there, and the belief in the group. Every player at the club has not performed to a level that’s . . . apart from Cristiano [Ronaldo] with his goals.”
The verdict is unanimous among supporters, journalists and pundits that Ronaldo and David De Gea are undoubtedly the club’s standout performers this season. As such, it was therefore interesting that Maguire didn’t mention the latter in even the least bit when discussing the matter.
Understandably it would only be fair to give Maguire the benefit of the doubt for not naming De Gea, but it’s also not unreasonable to speculate that the goalkeeper’s total omission from the skipper’s interview might have been at all inadvertent but by design, insinuating the possibility of Maguire deliberately leaving out mention of De Gea.
The Spanish goalkeeper has flourished wonderfully this season at Old Trafford, enjoying a renaissance and reclaiming the No.1 spot in emphatic style after uncertainty enveloping his future in the summer. Without doubt, he’s actually been more consistent than even Ronaldo, who endured a relatively barren period in contrast to his previous seasons.
Within this scenario then, it’s therefore a bit of a jolt to even suggest that De Gea is possibly contributing to United’s problems. Although a world-class shot stopper, he ‘s perceptibly failed to evolve as his distribution is awful, his aerial presence awkwardly lacking, besides being far from comfortable sweeping up from the back. De Gea is all thumbs with the ball at his feet and that shouldn’t be allowed to be in 2022.
Admittedly it’s a bitter tonic to swallow because De Gea has been clearly outstanding this season. However, the awkward facts are there staring at anyone with some football savvy in the face and this puts the club at an immediate disadvantage with De Gea at the back, as his wayward passes are only inviting pressure straight onto the back line.