Graeme Souness thinks Erik ten Hag made a mistake by letting ‘fantastic’ player leave Manchester United

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Graeme Souness has suggested that Erik ten Hag made a mistake by allowing David de Gea to leave Manchester United.

Erik ten Hag opted for a change in the goalkeeping department over the summer as David de Gea left Old Trafford.

The Spaniard reportedly failed to agree terms on a new contract, with Manchester United then moving to bring in Andre Onana. 

It’s fair to say that Onana has endured a shaky start to life in Manchester following a brilliant campaign at Inter Milan last time out.

And Graeme Souness believes United didn’t necessarily have to move De Gea on for Onana last summer.

Souness says United made a mistake with De Gea

Speaking on Simon & Souness, the Liverpool legend questioned United’s decision to bring in a new goalkeeper last summer.

“You don’t have an infinite amount of money to spend,” Souness said. “You have a budget to work with. So you go and spend £70 million on a goalkeeper because you wanted to play from the back.

“You prioritise. You have to try and strengthen where you really need players. Did they really, really need to spend £70 million on a goalkeeper when they had De Gea who was still a very good goalkeeper for Man United?

“De Gea was still a top goalkeeper, every goalkeeper will make a mistake.”

De Gea was undoubtedly a ‘fantastic’ goalkeeper for United over the years and remained a very capable shot-stopper.

But many understood the need for United to bring in a new man between the sticks at the time.

The legendary goalkeeper struggled with the ball at his feet, which didn’t exactly lend itself well to Ten Hag’s commitment to playing out from the back.

Mistakes had also started to creep into De Gea’s game and it felt like the right time for the 33-year-old to move on.

He remains without a club after leaving Old Trafford last summer but he has been linked with the likes of Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest.