Leicester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel has leapt to the defence of Manchester United counterpart David de Gea amid mounting criticism of the Spain star.
De Geaโs position as number one goalkeeper at Premier League giants United has once again been thrust into the spotlight following his inconsistent performances in 2019-20.
Calls for highly-rated English keeper Dean Henderson โ on loan at Sheffield United โ to be recalled have grown louder following De Geaโs nightmare display against Chelsea in last weekโs FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.
De Gea failed to keep out Olivier Giroudโs close-range effort before he was beaten with embarrassing ease following Mason Mountโs speculative long-range effort in Chelseaโs 3-1 triumph, though the long-serving keeper retained his place in Wednesdayโs 1-1 Premier League draw against West Ham.
As Man Utd prepare for Sundayโs blockbuster final-day trip to fifth-placed Leicester, which will determine who qualifies for next seasonโs Champions League, Schmeichel backed De Gea.
โIt can be very difficult and youโve got to remember, and this is with absolutely no disrespect to journalists or pundits, but youโve actually never stood in that goal,โ Schmeichel told Sky Sports.
โYou would classify things as mistakes or errors, and there are things that are glaring sometimes, but often this narrative can be created around a goalkeeper because itโs the punditsโ and journalistsโ job to educate and thatโs their job.
โTheyโre telling their educated opinions about goalkeeping, things like hand positions, feet positions, technical things which sometimes is quite damaging to a goalkeeper.
โYou hear comments like, โgoing with the wrong handโ, or other throw away things that theyโll say which will make the consumer or viewer think, โoh yeah, thatโs right, I see heโs done it againโ.
โThatโs sometimes quite a dangerous narrative because all of a sudden it starts building momentum and for someone like David, I really feel for him because he has been unbelievable for so many years and every goalkeeper goes through periods [of poor form].
โThere is a lot of pressure also in the sense that you now have an England goalkeeper coming through and, like it or not, in this country when you have an English goalkeeper, that means so much and they really do tend to build them up.
โI genuinely hope for someone like Dean Henderson, whoโs had an amazing season, that he can be allowed to develop. I hope for him, he gets another season, maybe two at Sheffield United and play the way heโs done and then heโll be ready.
โBut for now, David de Gea is still a world-class goalkeeper. Itโs a lonely position and those are the margins you play in as a goalkeeper โ you simply cannot make mistakes because you will be punished.
โSo the difference between goalkeepers and outfielders is the little, tiny, minute details which are the difference and when they go against you, they are really glaring and they will be spotted.
โOutfielders donโt have to have the same mentality and they say weโre crazy, which we are because weโre the only ones who dare to take the responsibility because if outfielders took that kind of responsibility, weโd have some unbelievable players everywhere.โ
De Gea, who joined Man Utd from Atletico Madrid in 2011, surpassed Peter Schmeichel โ Kasperโs father โ to become the overseas player with the most appearances for the Red Devils earlier this month.
United are third in the Premier League after 37 rounds, level on points with fourth-placed Chelsea and a point clear of Leicester.