Chris Smalling believes David De Gea will soon show the football world the same qualities he's demonstrating behind closed doors at Carrington every day.
United's 20 year-old Spanish goalkeeper has had a raw deal this week from pundits who found him at fault for West Brom's equaliser at The Hawthorns last Sunday. But while his knockers have been noisy, De Gea has quietly knuckled down to training hard with his team-mates.
"He has been training really well," Smalling told us on Friday. "We have played a few small-sided games this week and you could see his agility and his kicking ability. He is showing his quality in training and it is only a matter of time until the whole world sees it too."
Smalling feels it's only natural for De Gea to experience some difficulties while he adjusts to a new league, life and language in Manchester. The defender added:
"It’s all a learning curve and I think a lot of the foreign lads take time to get used to it.
"I think he’s settling in really well. A lot of the lads speak Spanish anyway but he is learning English, it's coming along, and that will help him. He is getting into the groove and I’m sure there are good things to come from him."
De Gea first impressed Smalling in May 2010 when their former clubs, Atletico Madrid and Fulham, contested the Europa League final in
Hamburg. The England Under-21 defender reminds us that De Gea more than played his part in the Spanish side's triumph.
“Some of the media criticism this week has been a bit judgmental given that he has only played a couple of games for United. He played some massive games for Atletico Madrid - including the Europa League final - and performed well.
"The manager has obviously put a lot of faith in him by making him first-choice and I think he is going to be a great goalkeeper for us."
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire