The Manchester United goalkeeper situation remains in question. David de Gea, who has no doubt saved (both literally and metaphorically) the Red Devils time and time again over the years, has just not been himself lately. He was a total disaster against Chelsea in the FA Cup semifinals this past Sunday, and some fans are clamoring for Dean Henderson to be recalled and assume the No. 1 position next season.
United are set to host West Ham United in a couple hours, and some believe that back-up goaltender Sergio Romero could get the first string nod tonight. Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was understandably coy on this topic at his prematch press conference yesterday.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” said Solskjaer.
“We stick together as a group. Of course, we’re going to stick together as a group and as I said he’s proven before he’s mentally strong.”
“We’ll stay together and we’ll see the team on Wednesday night. Every position is a big one here so you’ve got to do what is right for the team and the club. We’ll do that on Wednesday, we’ll do that on Sunday [against Leicester] and then when the season’s finished we’ll make more decisions.”
So no one’s place in the first XI is absolutely cemented, not even the man who won the club’s Player of the Year award four seasons out of five from 2013-2018. De Gea was top class elite on some really mediocre United sides. Now that there is a lot more talent around him, his quality has unfortunately slipped.
As for Henderson, he’s been on loan at Sheffield United for the past two seasons, and it remains to be seen if he’ll stay for a third. Henderson wants to stay with United and try to win the starting job eventually, but Chelsea are reportedly ready to double his salary if they can convince him to move to Stamford Bridge.
Henderson would reportedly rather go out on loan again instead of leaving Old Trafford permanently.
Elsewhere Mexican forward and Wolverhampton Wanderers star Raul Jimenez has been linked with United (as well as a few other clubs) for quite some time.
Red Devils club legend and television talking head Rio Ferdinand believes that Wolves will hang on to Jimenez, but he’d be down with it if a transfer move to United were to happen.
“I think Wolves will do well to keep hold of him,” Rio Ferdinand said to BT Sport.
“I think he’s a player with immense talent and I think his goalscoring record over the last two years has been really good. Before that his record was a bit shady, but he has come to the Premier League and hit the ground running. He’s been a breath of fresh air.
“I wouldn’t say no at all,” Ferdinand responded when queried about United acquiring Jimenez.
“I think he’s something different to what they’ve got. As you can tell, he seems a great character around the place, and for a top club, I wouldn’t be surprised if they are sniffing. We’ve seen it in the media reports in the last few days that clubs are looking.”
What I like about him is he scores all types of goals. He’s at the back post heading things and bullying defenders, and he can score tremendous goals like that [against Burnley] out of nothing.”
Manchester United vs West Ham United FYIs
Kickoff: Wed July 22, 6pm, Old Trafford
Starting XI Predictions for both sides: go to this link
Team news for both sides: go to this link
Key Stat: West Ham are looking to complete their first league double over United since 2006-07. They won September’s reverse fixture 2-0.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly contributes to WGN TV, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Now and SB Nation.
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