Manchester United goalkeeper Tom Heaton is ready to replace David de Gea if called upon, according to transfer insider Dean Jones.

This comes after the Spain international's dreadful performance against Brentford on Saturday continued United's wretched start to the season.

What happened against Brentford?

Following the opening day defeat at Brighton in Erik ten Hag's first game in the Old Trafford dugout, the Dutchman would have been looking for a big response in west London.

But what he ultimately got was one of United's worst ever performances in the Premier League era, with De Gea's own display proving costly.

GiveMeSport Transfer Verdict

GiveMeSport Transfer Verdict

It was his mistake for Joshua Da Silva's opening goal which set the tempo, although the Red Devils' number one was partially at fault for Brentford's second goal as well when his sloppy pass to Christian Eriksen allowed Mathias Jensen to nip in and make it 2-0.

Bee Mee and Bryan Mbeumo incredibly put the Londoners 4-0 up inside 35 minutes and had United staring down the barrel at their heaviest ever Premier League defeat, although an uneventful second half meant Brentford weren't able to add to their tally.

Regardless, it was still a disastrous afternoon for United and De Gea, whose own showing prompted him to personally request to speak to the media and apologise for the part he played in the defeat.

What did Jones say about Heaton?

Jones reckons that United are still hoping to sign another goalkeeper before the window closes, but believes Heaton has confidence that he could do a job.

He told GIVEMESPORT: "I'm told Heaton is full of belief in himself and thinks he would be ready to take a chance if it came along, but there's no doubt United are looking at goalkeeping options at the moment.

"With Heaton, there's the same concerns about him passing out of the back, it's not been a huge part of his game before he came to United."

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Could Heaton replace De Gea?

Heaton is an incredibly experience shotstopper, making 374 first team appearances across his career, 116 have come in the Premier League, while he's also been capped three times by England.

But the 36-year-old made the return to Old Trafford as nothing more than a backup goalkeeper, which is why a shot ahead of De Gea would appear extremely unlikely.

De Gea has made mistakes previously and paid the price two seasons ago when he lost his place to Dean Henderson in the side, but with Heaton the only other senior keeper in United's squad, he's unlikely to lose his number one shirt any time soon.