David De Gea: Man Utd boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says keeper needs trophies

David De Gea will become only the second Manchester United goalkeeper to reach 400 club appearances if he plays against Southampton on Monday

De Gea is due to become only the second United keeper after Alex Stepney to reach 400 appearances for the club against Southampton on Monday.

The Spaniard, 29, has won United’s player of the year prize four times, one more than Cristiano Ronaldo.

“I don’t think he will be happy until he wins the bigger trophies,” said Solskjaer.

“Yes, he’s won personal awards but David is not the type to care about that. I think he wants the team to lift big as well. Staying at Manchester United for this amount of time and not having won more is something he will feel is a black dot in his career.”

In De Gea’s nine seasons at Old Trafford, United have won a single Premier League title, plus one FA Cup, an EFL Cup and a Europa League.

He was on the bench for the 2017 Europa League final against Ajax as Sergio Romero was selected instead.

In contrast, Peter Schmeichel won 11 major honours, including five league titles and a Champions League, during his eight years at United from 1991-99, when he made 398 appearances.

In an interview for the club’s matchday programme, United Review, Schmeichel says he would “hate to think what the league tables might have looked like” if De Gea had failed to reach the levels he did.

De Gea’s recent mistake against Tottenham drew stinging criticism from former United skipper Roy Keane.

His response has been impressive, with three clean sheets in four games as United have risen to fifth in the Premier League.

“David’s mentality is incredible,” said Schmeichel. “You can’t break him.

“That’s how you need to be when you are in goal for Manchester United. Any little mistake is a headline. If you can’t deal with that, it will break you.” – bbc.com