Manchester United fans have rallied around David de Gea since the return of football.The United number one came in for heavy criticism after dropping a clanger during the first game back against Tottenham Hotspur and it's raised serious questions about his future at the club.Ole Gunnar Solskjaer might have come out and defended him as the world's best goalkeeper, but nothing summed up the situation better than Roy Keane's explosive commentary on the night."I am sick to death of this goalkeeper. I’d be fighting him at half-time… I would be swinging punches at that guy," the Irishman said live on air with genuine disdain. “Maguire and De Gea – I wouldn’t even let them on the bus after the match. Get a taxi back to Manchester. Shocking! I am disgusted with them. You should hang your heads in shame.”

De Gea's decline since 2018

It's not necessarily that single error in north London that has people worrying, rather that De Gea has made something of an unwanted habit out of making Premier League errors.

The Spaniard has also dropped clangers against Everton, Watford and Crystal Palace this season, though his decline can be traced back to conceding soft goals at the 2018 World Cup.

It wouldn't be such a problem for De Gea if number two shot-stopper Sergio Romero was the only colleague snapping at his heals, but we all know that simply isn't the case.

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De Gea vs Henderson

In fact, one of the Premier League's best goalkeepers this season is actually on United's books and he comes in the form of Sheffield United's Dean Henderson.

Solskjaer has openly admitted that Henderson will be United's number one in the future and that could be as soon as next season if De Gea continues to make mistakes.

But has Henderson actually been playing better than the man wearing the jersey he's after? The answer is a whopping 'yes' and statistics released by ESPN prove the point nicely.

Check them out:

If you want any more confirmed, then WhoScored.com is the perfect tool to compare players by looking at average match ratings which are compiled by over 20 data sets from each game.

When you rank all the Premier League 'keepers to have appeared this season by that metric, you'll find Henderson sitting proud in ninth place with a rating of 6.77, which is equal with Alisson Becker. 

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But where is De Gea? Well, you have to scroll to the penultimate page to find him sitting in 24th with only the likes of Kepa Arrizabalaga, Adrian and Jordan Pickford trailing him.

So, not only is Henderson the number one out of them both this season, but he could turn that into a literal statement next season.