'You have to change your game a bit'- Schmeichel sends De Gea advice on Man Utd role change

The goalkeeper is set for his 400th appearance and he's been backed for many more years at Old Trafford


Peter Schmeichel has advised David de Gea on changing his role as he backs the Spaniard to stay at Manchester United for another 10 years.

De Gea eclipsed Schmeichel’s record recently, becoming the oversees player with the most appearances for Man Utd when he featured in his 399th game for the club against Aston Villa.

The Spaniard is also expected to add to his tally at Old Trafford on Monday night when Man Utd play host to Southampton.

While there has been plenty of debate in recent weeks as to whether or not De Gea is the right option for the long-term Schmeichel believes the Spain international will continue to evolve and thinks he could be at the club for the next decade.

“This team is evolving under Ole and that means that David’s role is changing too. If you’re a goalkeeper that has been busy for years, and now you’re not busy, you have to change your game a little bit,” Schmeichel told United Review.

“You need to find new ways of keeping your concentration, of staying with the game. We want to challenge for titles and you win them with clean sheets and goals.

"If you make saves and keep a clean sheet, that guarantees you one point, that’s it. But if you score goals then you’ve got a better chance of winning three points, and going forward we look incredibly exciting.

“Nine years at Manchester United is a long time and reaching 400 appearances for the club is a huge landmark which very few players have managed to do, but David’s got a long way still to go. He’s a young lad. He could play on here for another 10 years.

"It’s been great to watch his development here and it’ll be very exciting to see him use those experiences to play a big part in United’s future.”

De Gea is set to make his 400th appearance for United in their Premier League clash against Southampton and ahead of the fixture Schmeichel picked his favourite saves from the Spaniard over the years.

"There’s no debate about it: he’s been fantastic since he came to the club. He’s been Player of the Year in almost half the seasons he’s been at the club, and some of the saves he has made have been absolutely phenomenal,” Schmeichel said.

“There are too many to list, but obviously the free-kick from Juan Mata [at Stamford Bridge in 2012] stands out in my mind for being a turning point in his United career. From that point on, I was looking at David and thinking: ‘This guy… he’s something special.’

"Then there was the save at Anfield from Joel Matip [in 2017], the one he made with his foot. His reactions are just unbelievable at times.”