While the continued presence of David de Gea in Manchester United’s goal might have left fans and pundits lost in complete befuddlement, the sight of Sergio Romero sitting glumly on the Old Trafford sidelines elicits just as much confusion.
After all, this is an Argentina international with 96 caps for his country. He was the man who kept Ajax off the scoresheet during the Europa League triumph of 2017.
In fact, that was just one of the 38 clean sheets Romero has secured in five years in the North West. When you consider that his tally of games stands at a meagre 59, that statistic seems even more impressive.
But, while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has time and again displayed a ruthless streak which belies his ‘baby-faced’ image, United’s straight-talking boss has shown little interest in handing Romero a first Premier League appearance since 2017/18.
And it is not as if De Gea’s fumblings are anything new. United fans will tell you that the once-irrepressible Spaniard has been more Roy Carroll than Peter Schmeichel for the best part of 15 months now.
Yet if Solskjaer is not going to put his faith in Romero, then there are other Premier League bosses who will.
Fantastic goalkeeper
ESPN claims that Everton and newly-promoted Leeds United have identified the 33-year-old as the man to provide some much-needed competition for Jordan Pickford and Ilan Meslier next season.
However, with Tottenham Hotspur perhaps needing reinforcements between the sticks after some less-than-convincing displays from Paulo Gazzanigga during Hugo Lloris’s injury-enforced absence, don’t be surprised to see Solskjaer’s predecessor enter the race for a man he rates right up there with the best in the business.
They are two fantastic goalkeepers (De Gea and Romero). You are speaking about Argentina’s national goalkeeper,” Mourinho told the Sun before picking the latter to start against Ajax in Stockholm.
Mourinho, Ancelotti, Bielsa.
That is three coaches of the highest order, all firm admirers of a goalkeeper who has started seven Premier League games in five years.
In a way, this is a compliment to De Gea. Because, if United’s number one did not have such world-leading ability in those fingertips, then Romero would have taken his place long ago.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
