United have been too sentimental with long-serving players and should not make the same mistake with the brilliant yet limited Spanish goalkeeper

What do Manchester United do with a problem like David de Gea? The Spaniard is the club's most loyal player and their most consistent performer over the past decade. He has clawed the team out of numerous tricky situations and been named Player of the Year a joint-record four times.

He has made a remarkable transformation since arriving in Manchester aged 20 sporting a quiff and looking visibly frightened of Rory Delap's long throws and the rough treatment he would receive from crosses.

He bulked up and grew up into one of the team's leaders, a role model to younger players and a great ambassador for the club.

In a troubled decade since Sir Alex Ferguson's departure, De Gea's jaw-dropping saves with his feet and hands have been the one thing the club could always rely on. So often, the heavy metal fan from Madrid has been United's shelter from the storm.

But United cannot and should not ignore the elephant in the room.

GettyA long-running issue that keeps rearing its head

For all his strengths and his ability to make logic-defying saves, De Gea has a real flaw in his game which is getting exposed ever more frequently.

His lack of ability in playing out from the back is becoming a real concern and the only solution is for him to depart the club this summer.

De Gea was never comfortable with the ball at his feet, but it has only become a truly pressing issue in the last year since Erik ten Hag took charge and tried to get United to play the ball out from the back.

Ferguson, David Moyes, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Jose Mourinho were happy for De Gea to kick long most of the time, but more often than not it ended up handing possession straight back to the opponent. And in today's game, possession is harder and harder to recover.

The way the game has developed in the last 10 years, ball-playing goalkeepers have become the norm rather than the exception.

Players like Ederson, Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Manuel Neuer no longer look like outliers, and instead it is goalkeepers who are uncomfortable on the ball that look increasingly isolated.

AdvertisementGettyThe Brentford horror-show

The fact that De Gea's limitations on the ball could become a problem for Ten Hag was discussed in pre-season, but it was not until the trip to Brentford in August that the size of the issue was laid bare.

De Gea's confidence was already low after spilling a shot from Josh Dasilva into the net, and only eight minutes later he played a soft pass to Christian Eriksen, one that Mathias Jensen pounced on in an instant to rob possession and calmly slot the second goal in the shock 4-0 thrashing.

United quickly abandoned their plans to play out from their goalkeeper and turned results around by reverting to a counter-attacking style.

Getty ImagesBetis set the alarm bells ringing again

De Gea's shortcomings with kicking had largely been forgotten about by March, even after the 7-0 thumping by Liverpool.

But the Europa League last-16 first leg against Real Betis was a stark reminder of the Spaniard's weakness on the ball, as a bad pass by the goalkeeper straight to Juanmi almost led to the visitors taking a 2-1 lead at Old Trafford.

United eventually won 4-1, but Ten Hag was asked about De Gea's performance and gave a surprisingly blunt and honest response. "I can't ignore it," said the Dutchman.

He did, in fairness, also defended his goalkeeper, insisting that De Gea had improved a lot on the ball this season, notwithstanding that shaky display.

GettyNewcastle ruthlessly target him

Newcastle seemed to have done their homework on De Gea, and every time he got a goal kick during the game, Eddie Howe's side lined up three players directly across his box, blocking passing lanes.

The Spaniard really struggled under the pressure and, after a few near-misses, he reverted to punting the ball long, giving possession straight back to Newcastle.

His struggles were scrutinised by the Match of the Day 2 team. "Play out from the back like that your goalkeeper needs to be the extra man on the ball," said presenter Mark Chapman. "He's not comfortable," added Alan Shearer.

"There's no way that David de Gea is comfortable doing that, he doesn't want to do that and teams are quite happy to let him have the ball because they understand that's a problem for Manchester United."