Manchester United legend Paul Ince has questioned the leadership qualities of David de Gea following his comments after the Red Devils’ 1-0 defeat at Newcastle United. The Spain international had a relatively quiet game against the Magpies but he was beaten in the 72nd minute after a fierce 20-yard strike from Matthew Longstaff.
Following the game, De Gea was asked about the reason behind the recent run of poor form for the club and he happened to suggest that he does not have a clue over the situation. In response to this, Ince has been unappreciative and believes the Spaniard should have addressed the positions where the club have struggled.
He told Paddy Power: “I watched David de Gea’s post-match interview and I was at a loss. He’s meant to be one of the leaders, if that was Peter Schmeichel standing there, there’s no chance you’d have seen that interview. Rather than him addressing and recognising where the team were going wrong, it just felt like ‘I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know’. This is one of the top players, the leaders at Man United, who has just signed a five-year contract! And he looks like he doesn’t have a clue what’s going on.”
De Gea has not produced his best form over the past year and he has been culpable of making high-profile mistakes between the sticks. Nonetheless, he has regularly received the support from the club and he recently committed his future by penning a new five-year contract. United have made their worst-ever start to a Premier League campaign this term and they are presently at the bottom half of the table with just nine points from eight games.
The major cause for concern has been the attacking department, considering they have netted just nine goals from eight league matches. Out of those, four of them came during the season opener where they secured a comfortable 4-0 triumph over Chelsea at Old Trafford.