Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has yet to decide between David De Gea and Dean Henderson for Wednesday's Europa League final and admits that whoever misses out will likely have played their final game for the club.
De Gea started the season as the first-choice goalkeeper, with Henderson getting a chance to shine in cup competitions after returning from a two-year loan spell at Sheffield United.
Henderson, on the other hand, recently took over Premier League duties when De Gea flew to Spain to attend the birth of his first child, giving the England international the perfect opportunity to stake his claim as the team's long-term number one.
Henderson, however, has failed to persuade Solskjaer that he should be the undisputed first choice, with the 24-year-old making a costly error in a 4-2 loss to Liverpool earlier this month and looking vulnerable from set-pieces.
Henderson made it clear upon his return last summer that he had no intention of providing backup to De Gea, and the England ace has piqued the interest of Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, and AC Milan since he was benched for last week's 1-1 draw against Fulham in the Premier League.
That move indicates that Solskjaer is leaning toward De Gea for the game in Gdansk, and ESPN reports that the Norwegian is aware that whoever misses out in Poland will most likely leave the club this summer.
De Gea, 30, is United's highest-paid player, earning £375,000 per week, and he wants to stay at Old Trafford. Solskjaer is concerned about the Spaniard's lack of motivation and inability to command his box, but he is technically superior to Henderson, who excels in communication and organization.
The game is the biggest of Solskjaer's two-and-a-half-year reign at Old Trafford, and it gives him the opportunity to win silverware for the first time as manager. United have lost five semi-finals under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
No comments:
Post a Comment