David de Gea had 15 months to plot his next move. Freed by Manchester United at the end of the 2022/23 season, the Spanish goalkeeper was linked with Saudi Pro League clubs. Bayern Munich reportedly considered a move. A return to Atlético Madrid was even mooted.
Instead, de Gea has pitched up at Fiorentina over a year after his last professional match.
On pedigree alone, de Gea is a notable capture for La Viola. At Old Trafford, he was one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League for a number of years and is experienced at the elite level. Manchester United, however, had their reasons for letting de Gea leave and those might come to the fore once again in Serie A.
The biggest reason was de Gea’s weakness in possession. Long gone are the days when elite level goalkeepers could get away with launching the ball long every time it came near them. Instead, they are expected to start build-up moves from deep. They are now footballers as much as they are goalkeepers and this is where de Gea has been left behind.
This wouldn’t have been a problem for many of the teams linked with de Gea. Atlético Madrid, for instance, aren’t known for passing out from the back. Fiorentina, however, are expected to adopt a possession-heavy approach under new manager Raffaele Palladino. De Gea might be at a new club, but he could suffer the same old problems.
Palladino arrived at the Stadio Artemio Franchi this summer having achieved a great deal at Monza. Under the former Juventus winger, Monza punched above their weight, finishing 12th in Serie A last season playing an attractive brand of modern football that attracted Fiorentina after Vincenzo Italiano left for Bologna.
Fiorentina find themselves at an interesting crossroads. Under Italiano, La Viola have firmly established themselves in the top half of the Serie A table, also making the Europa Conference League final in back-to-back seasons, but there is ambition within the club to take the next step towards a top four challenge and Champions League qualification.
“I want Fiorentina to be ambitious and with a strong mentality,” said Palladino. “We’ve got to be able to fight it out against anyone. We can win or lose, but what interests me is the mentality of taking the game to them. We’ve got to entertain the people of Florence and are working to build a great Fiorentina side.”
While Palladino has demonstrated tactical flexibility during his two seasons in management, he will likely use a back three at Fiorentina designed to give his team a variety of routes out of the defence in possession. From there, La Viola will be able to move into midfield and activate attackers like Nico González. They could also use the wing backs as a funnel into the final third.
All this, though, is dependent on de Gea having the technical ability to pick a pass and that is something that has been proven to be a weakness of his in the past. It’s the reason Erik ten Hag pressed for the signing of the more possession-comfortable André Onana to replace de Gea only 12 months ago.
It should also be mentioned that even as a shot-stopper, de Gea dropped off towards the end of his time at Manchester United. Indeed, his save percentage (70%) in his final season at the club was lower than at any other stage of his United career. His shaky performance in the 2022/23 FA Cup final against Manchester City – de Gea’s final game for United – really hit home how far he’d fallen.
Since then, de Gea has sat on the sidelines. “I am fit, I trained every day, even more than before. I am on a good level,” the 33-year-old said in response to concerns that he will struggle for sharpness. “Perhaps it will take some time in the first games, but I’ve been playing for many years, so you just need to put me in goal.”
Maybe de Gea will rediscover his former level as a shot-stopper. He certainly wouldn’t be the first player to improve after leaving Manchester United in recent times – just ask Jadon Sancho, Andreas Pereira, Chris Smalling, Romelu Lukaku, Mateo Darmian and Memphis Depay among others. The new surroundings of Serie A might reinvigorate de Gea.
Alternatively, de Gea could discover that modern football will demand the same of him at Fiorentina as it did at Manchester United. There may be fewer eyeballs on him at his new club, but his manager will certainly be watching and the early indications are that de Gea will be an awkward fit for Palladino’s approach just as he was for ten Hag’s.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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