Top 10 Manchester United signings of the decade

#3 David de Gea (£19 million from Atletico Madrid in 2011)

Its no easy task to replace Edwin van der Saar. David de Gea understandably struggled to live up to his illustrious predecessor’s name in a new country.

The errors that he made in those first couple of years led to some serious doubts about his abilities at the top level. But the club stood by him throughout, and reaped the rewards later.

He helped United reclaim the Premier League title from Man City in 2013. In the difficult years that followed, the Spaniard has bailed his club out numerous times. There are matches in which de Gea has single-handedly pulled off inhuman saves to earn some precious points.

The Red Devils could have easily missed out on European qualification several times this decade if it wasn’t for him. He was voted the club’s Player of the Season 4 times (including 3 successive awards). There’s no doubt that based on performances alone, de Gea has been United’s best player of the 2010’s.

If the Red Devils are to get back to the top, they’ll need the 29-year-old to remain at the top his game. He endured a very mediocre 2018 World Cup, making some high-profile errors that didn’t go unnoticed.

That seems to have affected his nerve in the last couple of seasons. Although he’s improved and shown some signs of the old de Gea, he’s continued to make a few costly mistakes that even temporarily cost him his spot in Spain’s starting XI.

But as they say, class is permanent. It’s surely only a matter of time before the Spaniard becomes the best keeper in the world again.