Solskjaer may drop De Gea for remaining games

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer refused to confirm that goalkeeper David de Gea will start for the club in the club’s remaining league games.

Speaking to the press, Solskjaer was asked if he would drop under performing players from his time, with the context being De Gea’s place, due to an increasing number of costly mistakes for the club, the last of which came in their 3-1 defeat to Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final at the weekend.

United have two games in the Premier League left and two wins, first against West Ham and then against rivals for the place, Leicester City, would give them a spot in the Champions League next year. The additional funds given by television revenue, corporate sponsorship and prize money would ensure they could spend big - or relatively big given the impact of the coronavirus - as they prepare for next season.

Sergio Romero had featured in every game in the FA Cup this season until the semi-final, and could be called back into action against West Ham, but Solskjaer would not elucidate.

He said: “You have to. Every position is a big one here, so you’ve got to do what is right for the team and the club.

“We’ll do that on Wednesday, we’ll do that on Sunday, and then when the season’s finished we’ll make more decisions.

“David’s mentally strong enough to know that his job is to perform in training the next day and then be ready for the games.

“My job is to prepare a team for West Ham. That’s what we’re doing, just focusing on that one.

“We’re not going to talk about individuals, because no-one here is going to feel that we put more pressure on them.

“Everything we talk about is between ourselves. We keep that relationship open and every player can trust me to keep that confidential.”