David De Gea was back in action for the Spanish national team on Tuesday and he hopes he will be back in playing for Manchester United soon.
Vicente del Bosque gave the forgotten man a run out as De Gea, 24, started and played the full 90 minutes in Spain’s 1-0 win over Macedonia in their European qualifier.
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The Spanish international hasn’t featured for United since a July 29 friendly vs. Paris Saint-Germain and has sat in the stands for United’s first four games of the current Premier League season after Louis Van Gaal claimed he was unfocused and refused to play De Gea.
With his protracted potential move to Real Madrid collapsing dramatically on Deadline Day, De Gea is now expected to spend the 2015-16 season (or until the January window, at least) at Old Trafford as his current deal with the Red Devils runs out next summer.
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Speaking to the Spanish press after the game, De Gea had the following to say about playing for Spain and his hopes of returning for United.
“I felt good out there,” De Gea said. “The coach has given me confidence. I am just happy to have played. I wanted to play. I am very grateful to my team-mates who have been superb, and to the manager.
“Now we need to continue to work and let’s see if I’m also lucky in my club. My future is going to be the same as it is now. I’m calm, will continue to work and improve.
“In conclusion, I’m enjoying football. I’m happy.”
So, the big question is: should De Gea return for United against bitter rivals Liverpool (Watch live, 12:30 p.m. ET on NBC and online via Live Extra) on Saturday?
With De Gea clearly unwilling to commit his future to United, many believe the stance taken by van Gaal since the start of the season has been the correct one. However, not playing De Gea has been much easier to stomach so far with new Argentine goalkeeper Sergio Romero keeping four clean sheets in his first six games in all competitions. Romero was at fault for Swansea City’s winning goal in United’s 2-1 defeat at the Liberty Stadium before the international break, and at time his distribution has been sub-par to say the least.
After De Gea’s move to Real broke down, now seems like a good time to integrate him back into the starting lineup, or at least on the bench. He will be at United for at least the next four months and probably longer, so why not use the reigning Premier League Goalkeeper of the Year?
Yes, many will question De Gea’s commitment to United as it seems increasingly unlucky that he will re-sign next summer and will instead arrange in January — as players in the last year of their deal are allowed to do so — a move away to Real Madrid for a free transfer next July. But in the here and the now, DDG would help LVG and United this season. They are better time with him in and as his compatriot and United teammate Juan Mata has said in recent days, there doesn’t seem to be any underlying issue between the fans, club officials or the management towards De Gea.
Let him play. Would United’s fans love it if he returns to be the hero against Liverpool at Old Trafford on Saturday?
