David de Gea isn’t having his best season at Manchester United by a long way.
Recent serious mistakes have brought the situation to a head, but he hasn’t been at his best for a while.
Frans Hoek knows the goalkeeper very well, having worked as goalkeeping coach under Louis van Gaal at Old Trafford.
The Dutchman left when his boss exited Manchester United and has since found work with Galatasaray and the Dutch national team.
Speaking to Marca this week, Hoek has been asked about several goalkeepers, the first being Barcelona’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen: “For me he is one of the best because at Barça it is very important to play well with the feet, but he’s also fantastic stopping, in the one on ones… he is a very modern goalkeeper, of this time, and that has a lot of value.”
Then came David De Gea, and Hoek suggested the Manchester United player could shine elsewhere, should he choose to: “I worked with him for two years at Manchester and I must say that he has an impressive level, it’s not easy to play three games a week as England demands, and to be up to the task. More so because there anyone can beat anyone. And he gets it. That’s why it’s not normal for him to see some errors with his selection. De Gea can play at Barcelona, Manchester City, etc. because he has quality with his feet and many other qualities.”
Then Marca asked Hoek who is the most complete goalkeeper in world football today. He left out his former player De Gea and instead praised those at clubs not too far from Old Trafford: “I really like how Alisson is, both in attack and in defence. Ederson, from Manchester City, he’s very good with his feet. Neuer is a top goalkeeper but has problems with his injury.”
