Rio Ferdinand was shocked after his fellow YouTube presenter made a “wild” Aaron Ramsdale claim in the wake of David de Gea’s latest error for Manchester United.
De Gea is currently locked in talks with United over a contract extension which would see him take a significant pay cut from £375,000-a-week to around £200,000, with Red Devils manager Erik ten Hag said to be looking for an alternative first choice stopper in the transfer market this summer.
The Spaniard’s latest mistake against West Ham has led people to question whether he should be offered a new deal at all, with that error now meaning he’s made four leading directly to goals this season, the joint-most in the Premier League.
Joel Beya, Ferdinand’s fellow presenter on his Vibe With Five show on YouTube, claimed Arsenal keeper Ramsdale will go on to have a better Premier League career than De Gea, and Rio couldn’t believe his ears.
“Wow, wow, WOW! How many Premier Leagues has he (De Gea) won? How many UEFA Cups has he won? Does he have an FA Cup as well?! Probably got a League Cup in there,” Ferdinand responded.
“He has done the clean sweep domestically. I think Ramsdale has been tremendous this season. Another one who has come on leaps and bounds. Hasn’t he got two or three relegations under his belt so far?! I’m just asking.
“You are making big wild statements again! You did it before with [William] Saliba. Too early. Too quick. This season he [De Gea] has made mistakes. He has made four mistakes leading to goals. The most in a season with [Hugo] Lloris. That’s not good – but most clean sheets [this season].
“The geezer has won Player of the Year at Man United, I think it’s five times. What does that tell you?! He has got to be performing and playing tip-top football.”
Ten Hag publicly backed De Gea after the West Ham loss, insisting he wanted De Gea to stay at Old Trafford.
“He has the most clean sheets in the league so we would not be here in this position without him,” Ten Hag said. “He fully has my belief. No concerns with him. It happens but as a team you have to deal with it, show character, be resilient and bounce back. We want him to stay and extend his contract.”
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