In September 2019, David De Gea finally signed a new contract with Manchester United.
The deal was enormous. Four years at £350,000 a week, with an option for a further 12 months.
Fair enough: De Gea was 29 years-old, among the very best goalkeepers in the world, and
had been United’s best performer over the last five years.
Eighteen months on, though, De Gea’s stock has fallen, and with Dean Henderson emerging
as a credible rival at Old Trafford, that huge contract suddenly seems burdensome.
But, what’s actually happened to David De Gea?
Goalkeepers’ reputations are always damaged by mistakes and, in that regard, De Gea has
suffered more than most.
He has made a lot of errors, and often in big games.
In fact, the tone of the coverage around him began to change at the beginning of the 2018
World Cup, when he allowed a Cristiano Ronaldo shot to pass through him during Spain’s
3-3 draw with Portugal.
Since then, the ugly moments have become more regular and, over time, framed him in a completely
different way.
And while these mistakes may span different seasons, they’ve all been part of the same
run of bad form.
Most recently, De Gea’s 2019-20 season was coloured not only by a disastrous FA Cup semi-final
against Chelsea, during which he allowed Olivier Giroud and Mason Mount to score from shots
which should have been saved, he was also beaten cheaply at his near-post by Bournemouth’s
Junior Stanislas at Old Trafford, and by a powerful strike by Tottenham’s Steven Bergwijn
which, as part of an emerging theme, seemed to pass through him on the way in.
Of course, it doesn’t help that De Gea plays for Manchester United. The social media criticism
has been unrelenting. And the attacks from the media have been vicious.
De Gea is a goalkeeper currently in decline and, while not a measure of goalkeeping performance
as a whole, data analysis confirms that his shot-stopping – long considered his outstanding
ability – has actually been deteriorating for some time.
Post-shot expected goals minus goals allowed per 90 subtracts the number of goals a goalkeeper
has actually conceded, from a calculated average of the number he could be expected to concede
from the quality of on-target shots he has faced.
Positives numbers are good, negative numbers are bad. And between 2017 and 2021, De Gea’s
trajectory has been alarming.
His performance is more worrying when compared with the average PSxG-GA per 90 among Premier
League goalkeepers in those seasons.
In 2017-18, that average was -0.01 PSxG-GA per 90, which De Gea outperformed considerably
with his +0.21.
In 20-21, that league average is +0.07 which – with -0.01 PSxG-GA per 90 – De Gea is
now well below, making him - by definition - a lower than average shot-stopper.
His performance in that category is also well below what were once his peers in Europe.
Jan Oblak (+0.29), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (0.15) Alisson (+0.12), Ederson (+0.11), and Thibaut
Courtois (+0.06) are all enjoying far better seasons.
But what’s actually behind this? Really, there’s no silver bullet explanation. The
on-pitch evidence is the result of many different factors.
Diminishing confidence, media scrutiny and the growing reputation of Dean Henderson are
all part of this vicious cycle of poor goalkeeping form. The Athletic’s Carl Anka, who has
covered Manchester United’s games throughout the lockdown, has also noticed the audible
signs of De Gea’s malaise, and has repeatedly heard him chastise himself in his native Spanish.
He also reports that De Gea is less vocal in communication with his defenders than he
once was, certainly in comparison to his understudy, Dean Henderson.
In both cases, that would seem to describe a distracted and frustrated goalkeeper who
is battling more just a single issue – as would the fact that over the past three years,
De Gea has made errors resulting in goals from every conceivable situation.
From corners and crosses, as with the miscalculation against Everton in February 2020 which resulted
in a Victor Lindelof own-goal.
From having the ball at his feet, as with an incident at Goodison Park, when Dominic
Calvert-Lewin charged down a clearance into the net.
And for a whole host of other goals, which – while not calamities – either didn’t
look quite right, or didn’t match the expectation for what a goalkeeper of De Gea’s ability
should concede.
Neymar’s Champions League goal at Old Trafford, for instance, when he failed to close off
the available cross-shot. Or Justin Kluivert’s goal in Leipzig in that group’s decisive
game, when he hesitated, failed to set himself properly and then appeared to turn his head
away from the ball.
These are by no means terrible mistakes, but they do look odd – and perhaps, suggests
former professional goalkeeper and now coach David Preece, De Gea’s stance is complicit
in them.
He favours a starting position which is very popular among top goalkeepers
He has his hands
low, extending below his waist and inside the width of his shoulders. He also sets up
with his legs wide apart and his knees slightly bent.
The benefits are obvious: it puts his hands in position to cover his corners, and his
feet ready to make those instinctive low saves close to his body.
But, says Preece, the stance can also make him vulnerable.
While the position of his hands allows him to cover wide areas, it also creates an awkwardness
in reacting to shots close to and around his body.
And, while having his legs wide does put his feet in positions to make saves, it comes
at a cost. It changes the distribution of his weight, which can lead to him falling
backwards, and also prevents him from whipping his feet out from under him, in the way necessary
to make low saves with his hands.
It’s a technique which has served him extremely well in the past. But it’s high risk. It
depends on lightning quick reaction speed and demands perfect, instant decisions about
which part of the body to use when making a save.
And when a goalkeeper isn’t able to do that, when those calculations are wrong or when
there are imperfections in the technique itself, that’s when the flaws reveal themselves,
manifesting in the ‘not quite right’ aesthetic of many of the goals De Gea continues to concede.
It’s very difficult to cure. Goalkeeping form depends on the relationship between state
of mind and mechanics. As a result, fearful, unhappy, or hesitant goalkeepers are often
guilty of making little decisions which result in big mistakes.
It might be to stay too close to his line when a cross enters his six-yard box.
It could be a reluctance to take an extra step when closing down a one-on-one.
Or it could be to take a few extra seconds to play a pass.
Tellingly, David De Gea is guilty of all of these little behaviours, and he remains mired
in a long-term goalkeeping slump.