Former Manchester United stopper Raimond van der Gouw believes David de Gea remains a “fantastic” goalkeeper despite coming in for criticism for some of his performances this season.
The Spaniard is largely considered to be one of the best goalkeepers in world football, however, his normally high standards have often slipped this season leading to criticism from former United greats.
Back in March, De Gea saw a clearance closed down by Everton's Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the opening minutes at Goodison Park, with the ball flying off the striker's boot and into the back of the net.
At half time of the game - which United would end up drawing 1-1 - former Reds captain Roy Keane did not hold back in his criticism of De Gea, calling him arrogant.
"As a manager or a player, you'd kill him," he told Sky Sports. "It's crazy goalkeeping.
"He is being too clever. He takes too long. What is he waiting for? He has to make a decision and do it quickly. You have got an experienced goalkeeper and what is he waiting for? There is a bit of arrogance there.
"I would have lynched him at half time. I would have had no time for that carry-on. Keepers can make mistakes but there are no excuses for that."
However, Van der Gouw believes that De Gea mistakes are "normal", and claims that even Peter Schmeichel made them during his time at Old Trafford.
“Well, United have very good goalkeepers,” the Dutchman told MUTV. "De Gea is fantastic – he has shown that he is one of the best goalkeepers in England. Not only for one year, but for the last couple of years.
“Last season he made a couple of mistakes, but that’s normal. He’s a human being, and if I look back at when I was at Manchester United, when I first saw Peter Schmeichel I thought he would never make a mistake.
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“But then during the Treble season he had a bad spell and you wonder how that is possible.
“De Gea is fantastic, but he can make mistakes. So do all top players!
“Fantastic players are always looking over their shoulders and if they make a mistake people say they’re not as good anymore.
“This is ridiculous because they are human beings. For a goalkeeper, you have to be stable and if you make a mistake, make sure next time you are in the right place so you can stop the ball.”
De Gea now faces competition for the United number one jersey from both Sergio Romero and Dean Henderson, who has impressed on loan at Sheffield United this season.
And Van der Gouw has recalled how he faced a similar situation during his time at Old Trafford.
"You have to deal with the competition. In my situation that was with Mark Bosnich,” he added. “There was a new goalkeeper, but I thought this could be my chance. Peter was the no.1, but Mark was going to have to show it.
“I gave myself a chance and I was lucky because Mark Bosnich wasn’t really fit, he had a lot of injuries and I took my chance.
“When I look back, I played a lot of matches and I think that season [1999/00] I was probably No.1.”
