Ben Foster thinks Man Utd could end up saving millions of pounds by offering David de Gea a new lucrative contract at the club.
The Red Devils have the seventh worst defensive record this season after conceding 15 goals in their opening eight matches, ahead of their clash with Newcastle on Sunday.
De Gea has never been outstanding at the sweeper-keeper role at Man Utd and that has again been demanded of him by new boss Erik ten Hag, who wants to see his goalkeeper help build attacks.
But Foster insists there have been some promising signs that De Gea is now adapting to the role, with the Spain international’s performance in a 2-1 victory over Everton particularly impressive.
“There’s a lot of factors going on that you’ve got to read into,” Foster told The Metro.
“In the last game for example against Everton I thought De Gea was brilliant, he was a real sweeper-keeper on the edge of his box. Manchester United were pressing up so Everton were trying to play balls in behind and he was really on his toes, on the edge of his box and getting onto those passes but then keeping it simple.
“He’s definitely improved because if you think back to the start of the season when he passed it straight out to Eriksen [against Brentford] who’s under pressure and they lose the ball and it’s a goal. They’ve got away from that now and they’ve found a style of play that suits him and the team.
“The team, especially against Everton, decided to play that way [high pressing].
“They wanted to play higher up the pitch to press Everton and to keep them boxed in so that would have been a big message from Ten Hag and the rest of the team saying ‘Listen, David, if we’re doing this you have to fill that gap. You can’t just be stood in your six yard box, you have to be stood on the edge of your box and you have to be covering those through balls’.
“As long as everyone is on the same page and they know what’s happening then Luke Shaw and the centre-backs Martinez and Lindelof can push up because they know he’ll be there to snuff out any balls over the top.
“You don’t just find your way into stuff like that, it has to be a message before the game or a style of play that you do week in week out.”
On De Gea’s ability to play the role at Man Utd long term, Foster added: “He’s definitely got the ability to pick passes out and be calm for sure but United need to find a way of playing where when the ball goes back to him everyone needs to…
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