De Gea vs Henderson vs Romero: What the stats say with one Man Utd goalkeeper set for transfer
MANCHESTER UNITED boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has admitted one of David De Gea, Sergio Romero and Dean Henderson will be sold this summer.
The Norwegian chief has a huge decision to make this summer with three top-quality goalkeepers demanding first-team football.
De Gea, 29, has been undisputed No1 at United since 2011 – racking up over 300 Premier League appearances in that span.
But his form throughout the 2019-20 season – following his bumper new contract in September – was appalling.
Sergio Romero, 33, has served as De Gea’s understudy since 2015, excelling in cup competitions, with just seven Premier League matches under his belt.
Starting between the sticks in cup games has been enough for the Argentine.
But not even making the bench and being third-choice won’t be enough to keep Romero happy.
Then there’s 23-year-old Henderson – who has absolutely thrived in his two seasons on loan at Sheffield United.
The English stopper has revealed he wants to be named No1 or sold, with a host of admirers, including Chelsea.
With only two to stay this summer, Solskjaer has a dilemma on his hands.
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So, who should the Old Trafford boss keep – and who should be sold – according to the stats? We take a look…
De Gea played more in all competitions than his rivals at 42, compared to Henderson’s 40 and Romero’s 16.
And the Spaniard kept the most clean sheets at 15, to Henderson’s 14 and Romero’s 11.
But in terms of clean sheets per game, Romero is far and away the winner.
De Gea and Henderson both share an equal record of saving 73 per cent of all shots faced.
Romero wins that battle, too – saving shots at an 85 per cent slip.
In terms of minutes per goal conceded, Romero yet again comes up trumps.
The Argentine conceded once every 294 minutes – more than three whole matches.
Henderson comes in second, conceding once every 97 minutes, while De Gea let a goal in at an even one per 90 minutes.
So statistically it seems Romero is the best of the three, winning almost all of the key categories.
However, it’s worth noting some teams Romero faced in cup competitions are of a weaker standard than the likes De Gea and Henderson were exposed to.
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Henderson, too, was playing for a recently-promoted team too and was often kept more busy than De Gea and Romero.
In the interest of future-proofing his team, the stats suggest Solskjaer would be better off selling De Gea.
That way, the Spaniard could enjoy one more big pay-day, Romero could keep his spot as cup keeper and Henderson would snatch the No1 jersey his form merits.