Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Admits He Has 'Difficult' Decision to Make Over Man Utd Goalkeepers
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confessed that he is yet to decide what to do about the club's goalkeeper conundrum this summer.
David de Gea has been the undisputed starter this season - with Sergio Romero as backup - but with the Spaniard's form dipping on a number of occasions, there have been calls for young Dean Henderson to step into the first team now that he has returned from his impressive loan spell with Sheffield United.
United want to tie Henderson down to a new contract, but the 23-year-old is reluctant to do so if he is not guaranteed a starting role at Old Trafford - and Solskjaer confessed (via Goal) that he has some thinking to do ahead of the new season.
“I think I must be the most privileged manager in the world with the goalkeeping department I have with Sergio, David and we’ve got Dean Henderson coming back too,” Solskjaer said.
“We have three top, top keepers. This season has shown how important Sergio has been for us and for me David is always performing, so we shall see what we do for the rest of the season and going forward. It is a difficult decision, yeah. But it’s a nice problem to have.
“I think it’s as you say: competition for places is important. We are looking to have competition for places. We have Dean, Sergio, David in the ranks.
“Lee [Grant], the fantastic professional that he is, is backing them up. It will be difficult to keep three of them at the club, so we will see what the decision will be there.”
This is the first time that Solskjaer has not publicly backed De Gea. He has repeatedly insisted that the Spaniard will retain his place ahead of Henderson - despite a series of high-profile and costly errors - but now appears to have opened the door to the Englishman.
The 23-year-old has been tipped to compete with De Gea in pre-season to try and cement a spot in the starting lineup, and with both Sheffield United and Chelsea interested in signing him permanently, the Red Devils will be eager to find a way to make Henderson happy.
Henderson does still have two years on his contract, so there is no urgent rush to ink fresh terms, but United will be well aware that his transfer value will only start dropping if he continues to delay a commitment.
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