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Erik ten Hag comments on David de Gea’s contract predicament following West Ham’s mistake.
Following a costly mistake in Manchester United’s 1-0 loss to West Ham United, Erik Ten Hag has defended goalkeeper David de Gea.
In the game’s 27th minute, the Man Utd goalkeeper allowed a very feeble shot from Said Benrahma to find the back of the net.
Many supporters of the Red Devils have demanded that De Gea not be offered a new contract anytime soon due to the mistake and his appalling distribution during the whole game.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, however, Ten Hag disagreed with this sentiment, saying:
“Of course, we want him to sign a new contract. We would not be here in this position without him.”
At the end of April, We claimed that Man Utd and De Gea were nearing an agreement on a new deal with negotiated terms.
The Red Devils had the chance to exercise a one-year extension on his existing contract, but they instead lowered the goalkeeper’s £375,000 salary with a longer-term agreement.
Speaking in his post-match interview with BT Sport, the Man Utd continued his defence of the goalkeeper, saying that ‘mistakes are part of football’:
“Mistakes are part of football and in this team you have to deal with it and bounce back because it is a team sport. Over the season he is the one with the most clean sheets and also we did it as a team. It can happen, it’s football but everybody has to take responsibility.”
The defeat was Man Utd’s second in the space of four days away from home, with other coming on Thursday evening at the hands of Brighton and Hove Albion. When asked about the general performance levels shown by his side at London Stadium, Ten Hag replied:
“First half, I think we played quite well and we created a lot of opportunities, but on the first occasion they scored a goal. Of course, disappointment with the result, same as Thursday [against Brighton]. We lost for ourselves and now we have one week, the first time since Christmas, we need energy because both second halves were below standards.”