Simon Mignolet believes Manchester United’s David de Gea is ready to return against Liverpool on Saturday providing he has regained focus following the collapse of his proposed move to Real Madrid.
De Gea made his first competitive appearance of the season in Spain’s Euro 2016 qualifying win over Macedonia on Tuesday having missed six games at club level because of interest from Real. The 24-year-old informed Louis van Gaal’s coaching staff he was not keen to play for United while his future was in doubt and then had a £29m transfer to the Bernabéu thwarted amid arguments over paperwork on Spain’s deadline day.
Mignolet expects De Gea to handle a high-pressure comeback at Old Trafford this weekend, though admits the goalkeeper’s state of mind will be key to Van Gaal’s decision on whether to persist with Sergio Romero.
The Liverpool goalkeeper said: “It is always difficult to tell what is going on looking from the outside. The only thing I know is he is a very good goalkeeper who has proved himself to be very important for Manchester United over time. I think he has all the abilities to play again.
“The mental aspect of being a goalkeeper is very important so you have to go into the game with full concentration and confidence. That is a big part of your game and the Premier League is the most demanding league for any goalkeeper. When you are in a good frame of mind then the performance is going to be better. That is logical but I cannot say what is happening in his head. He played with Spain on Tuesday and he was ready then. He kept a clean sheet. But we have to look at ourselves and focus on our own jobs.”
Mignolet had his own problems in the corresponding fixture last season when he was dropped for the first of four games by Brendan Rodgers. The Belgium international was on the bench as United scored three past Brad Jones and De Gea produced an outstanding performance to preserve his clean sheet.
“He kept Manchester United in the game that day,” said De Gea’s Anfield counterpart. “Sometimes you are the hero as a goalkeeper and sometimes you don’t have anything to do and the ball goes in the back of the net. He saved United some points that day. It will depend on how he is on Saturday and what kind of state he is in. It’s for Manchester United to judge whether he is in a good frame of mind to play.”
