Solskjaer offers no assurances on De Gea’s place

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has refused to assure David De Gea that he will start against West Ham.

De Gea’s place for the vital Premier League clash at Old Trafford on Wednesday has come under pressure after he was at fault for two goals during the 3-1 FA Cup defeat to Chelsea on Sunday.

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Sources have told ESPN that the Spaniard is confident Solskjaer will keep faith, but when asked directly on Tuesday the Norwegian refused to give anything away.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” said Solskjaer. “We stick together as a group. Of course, we’re going to stick together as a group and as I said he’s proven before he’s mentally strong.

“We’ll stay together and we’ll see the team on Wednesday night.”

De Gea is coming to the end of his ninth season at United after moving to Old Trafford from Atletico Madrid in 2011.

He won the club’s player of the year award four times in five years between 2013 and 2018, but since then has suffered a dip in form culminating in the calamitous mistake at Wembley when he let Mason Mount‘s tame shot slip through his hands.

Solskjaer can call on No. 2 Sergio Romero if De Gea is dropped and the United boss insists he does not shy away from big decisions.

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

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

United have two games to secure a place in next season’s Champions League, starting with West Ham’s visit on Wednesday.

“We’ve given ourselves a great chance and it is squeaky bum time,” said Solskjaer. “I’m looking forward to it and I’m pretty sure the players are as well. We’ve given ourselves a very good chance with a great run.

“You can talk about it all the way back to October and that international break when we came back and should’ve won against Liverpool. From then on, we’ve been a very good team and more consistent.”