Ex-Manchester United coach names Louis Van Gaal star as the “greatest” he’s ever coached in his position

One former Manchester United star has been named as the “greatest” a former coach has ever worked with in his position during their time under Louis van Gaal.

Manchester United’s last 12 years have been a sorrowful state of affairs with some trophies mixed in between.

The club have seen six permanent managers take the reigns at Old Trafford since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, with Rúben Amorim the latest recruited charged with the task of rebuilding the club.

While United have won trophies such as the Europa League, Carabao Cup and FA Cup, the club have missed out on the highest pieces of silverware such as the Premier League and Champions League.

The Old Trafford outfit have seen multiple high-level talents come and go at the club across the last decade, with very few reaching the heights of their potential.

De Gea named as the “greatest”

Frans Hoek was Manchester United’s chief goalkeeping coach when the club appointed Louis van Gaal as manager in 2014, having worked with the Dutchman before at Ajax. However, he has worked at a whole host of clubs such as Bayern Munich and Barcelona as well as the Poland national team.

Speaking to RG of late, Hoek was quizzed on who he saw as the “greatest” goalkeeper he had ever coached, to which he replied that his stint working with former United shot-stopper David de Gea as what sticks in his mind.

“I was involved in the whole scouting process that brought Manuel Neuer to Bayern Munich,” Hoek started. “I could have stayed and coached him, but I wanted to remain loyal to Louis after his sacking and left alongside him.

“Everybody could tell Neuer was going to be one of the biggest talents ever. I worked with Edwin van der Sar at Ajax, Victor Valdés and Pepe Reina at Barcelona, they are all exceptional, but if you ask me to pick, I’d go with David De Gea.

“I was very impressed that he was capable of playing at such an incredibly high level for two years in a row. During my time at Manchester United, he didn’t really have a dip; you didn’t see him fall. He didn’t make a lot of mistakes, but he also made a lot of important actions that gave us the win at the end. He was at an incredible level, three games a week.

“I was also further along in my coaching journey than I was with Edwin… We were integrating goalkeepers more in training, and I could tell that David was dropping off a little bit in his form in the practices.

“When I saw that, we sat down together and discussed it, I didn’t wait until the games. We could eliminate the problems before it happened during a game, I could identify earlier if something wasn’t going well and tackle it.”

How De Gea compares to Onana

De Gea departed United in 2023 after the club chose not to extend his contract, with then-manager Erik ten Hag keen to bring in a goalkeeper who was better with their feet.

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United then opted to sign André Onana from Inter Milan for around £44 million, although the Cameroon international has since drawn criticisms following a series of mistakes during his opening 18 months at the club.

“I was there at the 2023 UEFA Champions League Final and I thought Onana had a perfect game, he was amazing for Inter,” Hoek said when asked how he assess Onana as a replacement for De Gea.

“He is capable of playing at an incredibly high level and can reach an incredible level, but you have to do it three times a week, 50–60 times a year, which is very difficult.

“Consistency is the most important thing for a goal player, De Gea was incredibly consistent in my two years at United, and if I look at Onana, I can see he’s not consistent.”

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