De Gea confident with form amid Henderson competition

Charlotte Duncker

De Gea confident with form amid Henderson competition image

David de Gea said he is feeling confident with his form amid increased competition from Dean Henderson.

Henderson’s arrival back at Old Trafford, after a successful loan spell at Sheffield United, has led to questions over who should be the club’s number one, with De Gea having held the spot for the last nine years.

But the competition appears to have pushed the Spaniard on and he has been in good form for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side of late.

The 30-year-old pulled off a couple of good saves to deny Romain Saiss in United’s 1-0 win against Wolves at Old Trafford on Tuesday and is happy with his displays.

"I feel very confident to be honest. I feel well," De Gea said. "I am happy every time I can help the team like today, make some big saves to keep the clean sheets.

"The whole team, I think we played a good game so, yeah, I'm really happy."

The win pushed United up to second in the table, just two points off Liverpool in top spot, and the team are showing a belief and mentality that they can compete at the top.

"I think we have now a winning mentality and this is very important for the team. All of us want to win, we keep trying until the end," the goalkeeper explained.

"The manager wants us to try until the end. It was great to see the team trying to score until the last minute and then we scored a goal, so it's perfect for us.

"We won a massive three points and now we'll try to recover as soon as possible and be ready for the next game."

Next up for Solskjaer’s side is the visit of Aston Villa on New Year’s Day and De Gea expects to be fit for that clash despite colliding with Adama Traore in the second half of Tuesday night’s win.

"Woof! I was lying on the pitch," De Gea laughed. "He's one of the strongest players in the Premier League, so it was very painful in my arm, in my stomach, but it was fine. We won the game, so everything's fine."

Charlotte Duncker

Charlotte Duncker Photo

Charlotte Duncker is Goal's Manchester United correspondent covering the club home and away across all competitions. She joined Goal in March 2020 after three years at the Manchester Evening News covering both United and Manchester City.