Ex-Manchester United star proves Ten Hag wrong with heroic performance for new club
David de Gea stepped up for Fiorentina in a big way on Sunday evening, making two penalty saves to help his new club beat AC Milan in Serie A.
In the summer of 2023, Erik ten Hag took a bold decision to look for a new goalkeeper, ending De Gea’s 12-year-long stay at Old Trafford.
The Spaniard was released upon the expiration of his contract and subsequently replaced by Andre Onana, who moved to United from Inter Milan in a deal believed to be north of €50 million.
The veteran goalkeeper had to wait more than a year to find a new club before Fiorentina came calling. In August of this summer, he joined the Florence-based outfit on a one-year contract.
Despite spending a year out of action, De Gea has enjoyed a strong start at Fiorentina, and with his resilient performance against Milan, he managed to raise plenty of eyebrows.
Yacine Adli and Albert Gudmundsson scored a goal each for Fiorentina, but it was De Gea’s two penalty saves that really made the difference in the home side’s 2-1 win.
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The Spain international pulled off incredible saves to deny Theo Hernández and Tammy Abraham from 12 yards. He also made an excellent effort to stop Samuel Chukwueze’s left-foot strike from rattling the right-hand bottom corner of the net.
Onana, whose skill-sets were questioned last season, has also started the campaign well for United, having kept more cleansheets than any other goalkeeper in the Premier League so far.
However, with his encouraging performances for Fiorentina, De Gea has shown he is still more than capable of delivering in Europe’s biggest leagues, raising question marks on his former club’s decision to part ways with him and spend a significant part of their transfer budget on his replacement.