Despite being an almost ever-present figure at Manchester United since his transfer from Atlético Madrid, there have been spells when David De Gea wasn’t the number one goalkeeper at Old Trafford.
They have been brief, but, for example, the Spaniard spent a chunk of the back end of last season watching Dean Henderson from the bench, which seemingly spurred him on to win his starting spot again.
He’s been a constant this year under both Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick, but the same can’t be said with his role in the Spain national team.
De Gea, who has 45 caps for his country, could even miss out on the World Cup in Qatar altogether, with it explained that Luis Enrique is looking beyond the 31-year-old.
Marca have an article on the situation, with the Spain manager reportedly telling the Manchester United player: “David, I want to try other goalkeepers.”
This took place over the phone, and De Gea then ‘thanked the coach for his call, accepted reality and told Luis Enrique that he is going to fight to be in what would be his third World Cup’.
Unai Símon has now fully replaced the Manchester United man between the sticks ever since a 1-0 loss to Ukraine in the UEFA Nations League in October 2020, with De Gea playing back up.
However, the decision from Luis Enrique to leave the 31-year-old entirely for the friendlies against Albania and Iceland was an even stronger message that his career as an international could be over.
Marca state that with David Raya and Robert Sánchez now both seemingly ahead of him, De Gea’s return ‘before Qatar is rated quite low’, with the outlet making it clear ‘it’s a matter of trust’, but also of what the manager ‘asks of his goalkeepers’.
