Paul Scholes disagrees with Erik ten Hag’s assessment of Man Utd player following 3-0 defeat vs Sevilla

Paul Scholes has disagreed with Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag’s assessment of goalkeeper David de Gea following an embarrassing Europa League exit for the Reds.

After taking a two-goal lead in the first leg, United conceded five across the two-legged tie to crash out of the competition.

It was a 3-0 demolition in Seville on Thursday and De Gea did not cover himself in glory after arguably being to blame for all three goals conceded.

The first came from a pass to Harry Maguire in the build up who was surrounded by three Sevilla players and whilst the United captain gave away possession cheaply, the decision to pass to the defender was questioned.

Following on from that, the Spaniard allowed a looping header to beat him from a corner and completely misjudged a long ball to gift Sevilla the game.

There are large question marks over the long-term future of the shot-stopper at Old Trafford, yet the manager was quick to his defence in his press conference after the loss.

“He is the one with the most clean sheets in the Premier League,” stated the Dutchman when questioned whether De Gea will still be number one next term. “That shows he is a very capable goalkeeper.”

However, ex-Red Scholes does not believe that his former teammate has the abilities that are needed for Ten Hag’s system.

“You have to question the goalkeeper, especially tonight. Erik ten Hag, eventually, will want to play out from the back,” he said on BT Sport.

“David de Gea has been a fantastic goalkeeper, but he is not a fantastic footballer. We saw the pass he played into Harry Maguire. Look, it’s not a bad pass and I know that Harry Maguire wanted it, but you have to read the situation, read what’s going on in the stadium and it is not a place [to do it].

“Harry Maguire wants the ball and I don’t know why he wants the ball. As I said before, there is only one centre-half in world football who is good receiving the ball with his back to play.”

“Regardless of whether the manager wants him to play, read the situation,” added Scholes. “He needed to read what was going on.

De Gea is currently in talks to extend his contract at the club, with his current deal running out in the summer. The no.1 is currently the highest-paid goalkeeper in world football but United are reportedly looking to cut his wages.