United were eliminated by Championship side Middlesbrough in the FA Cup, and goalkeeper De Gea did not play due to a break, but this made his main position more secure. Manchester United substitute goalkeeper Dean Henderson started and, although there was a wonderful save, could not prevent the Red Devils from getting out of the penalty shootout, the England international did not save any penalties, and is completely at a disadvantage in the competition for the goalkeeper position this season.
Before the match, De Gea was named the Premier League's official player of the month, becoming the first goalkeeper in six years to receive this award. In the history of the Premier League, only 10 goalkeepers have ever won the best. In the January Player of the Year competition, De Gea beat five opponents including Manchester City's De Bruyne, Wolves' Moutinho, Southampton's WardPlaus, West Ham's Bowen and Leeds United's Jack Harrison.
De Gea, 31, made 22 saves last month, finishing first in the Premier League despite only one clean sheet and a far ahead of the league totals of saves. Opta statistics show that no goalkeeper has saved more times than he did in europe's five major leagues during the same period. Meanwhile, expected goal data shows de Gea deflected 2.6 goal-definite goals last month, also the number one in the Premier League, and his outstanding performances helped Manchester United return to the top four positions in the league. Moreover, De Gea's clean sheet was exactly the key battle for the four to win 1-0 Against West Ham.
The last time a goalkeeper won the Premier League Player of the Month honour was Southampton goalkeeper Fraser Foster in February 2016. It is worth mentioning that this is also the first time in 11 years that De Gea has won the best league game in the league for 11 years, and he is also the first Spanish goalkeeper to win the award since November 2016, which fully proves that he has come out of the slump of the past two or three years and returned to his peak state.
"Yes, absolutely, I'm delighted to have won the Premier League's Best Award, which I've never won before." In an interview with Manchester United's official website, De Gea said: "I feel that I have been at a high level for a long time. But as I often say, the most important thing is to win trophies. We have to fight for the club and fight for the title. As a team, winning a trophy is more important than winning an individual award, but I'm still very happy to win the prize." At the same time, De Gea also won the Manchester United player of the month award for January, and the double happiness came to the goal. If nothing else, this season De Gea has a good chance of winning the club's Player of the Year honour again. And De Gea's achievement is the sadness of rival Henderson, the 24-year-old England international has completely lost the capital to compete with the ducks last season. In the winter transfer window, Watford had asked for a loan for Henderson on the last day, but Lonnick wanted to keep three high-level goalkeepers, and the tycoon could only stay, accompanying 35-year-old Tom Heaton on the bench.
After the FA Cup, Henderson may not have another chance to play, so far this season he has only started three times, the League Cup, the Champions League and the FA Cup each, these games have not been won by the team.
Henderson has been defeated by Southgate's England squad many times in a row, and after his departure in January, he knows he needs to wave off Manchester United this summer, although he has ambitions to become the Red Devils No. 1, De Gea's ability and ceiling are far better than his, and the 31-year-old is still in the category of "young" in the field of goalkeepers.
Sky Sports believes de Gea was one of the goalkeepers who changed goalkeepers' save habits, and although his strikes and high balls have been criticized, his technique of saving with his feet is innovative.
In the past, goalkeeper training, there was absolutely no practice of two-foot saves, but perhaps the future goalkeeper coach will add this link. In one of De Gea's classic games for Manchester United, Manchester United's Rick Tottenham Hotspur, De Gea made 11 saves, four of which were made with his feet, which no Premier League goalkeeper has been able to do in the last 10 years. After the game, at the suggestion of Martin Taylor, a famous sky sports commentator, De Gea framed the sneakers he wore during the game in his home as a souvenir.
United need to act decisively in the summer transfer window, the substitute goalkeeper is not a very important position, and the transfer fee from the sale of Henderson will not be low, at least £20 million, and a weekly salary of £120,000, both of which will help the currently undetermined official manager to introduce new reinforcements that are more needed in the main squad such as strong backs.