David de Gea has been backed to rediscover his best form and retain his place as Manchester United's No 1 by Rio Ferdinand.
The Spaniard's performances have drawn plenty over criticism over the past 12 months with errors creeping into his game.
His position is not helped by the continued emergence of Dean Henderson who has impressed during loan spells away at Sheffield United.
Some have called for the Englishman to replace De Gea as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's first choice goalkeeper.
But Ferdinand, who was previously team-mates with the Spaniard, is confident he can get back to his best.
“De Gea has the ability to get back to where he was,” Ferdinand told TeamTALK.
“He’s shown over the years that he is a class act. He can now have a break for a few weeks and come back with his focus renewed.
“He has the mentality to come back and reach his levels again. We’ve seen time and again how good he can be.
"I think he can still be a big player for United, but he has a point to prove again now. He has had tough times before and has come back.
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“He’s a great goalkeeper and over the years he has been fantastic for United. He was player of the year four out of six years or whatever it was.
"But if you are not producing the goods over an extended period of time you have to be told and there has to be someone waiting in the wings to come in.”
Henderson is poised to return to Old Trafford which will give Solskjaer plenty of selection headaches.
The 23-year-old has said he has no intention of playing second fiddle to De Gea and Chelsea are circling as they eye a lucrative move.
