Erik ten Hag adamant David De Gea’s distribution has improved this season

Erik ten Hag says David De Gea’s distribution has improved this season but the Manchester United manager could not “ignore” his errant kicking against Real Betis.

No shot-stopper has kept more clean sheets in the Red Devils’ history than the 32-year-old and only the great Alex Stepney has lined up between the sticks for the club on more occasions.

De Gea is the last player from the Sir Alex Ferguson era still playing regularly for United and has performed a key role since Ten Hag’s summer arrival, playing in all but four matches this season.

There had been suggestions that the Spain goalkeeper may not fit the Dutchman’s approach given his struggles playing out from the back – something that came into sharp focus on Thursday.

De Gea’s kicking was poor against Betis and he was fortunate that a particularly loose pass out did not see United fall behind, with Ayoze Perez’s deflected effort hitting a post before the hosts ran out 4-1 winners.

“From today I can’t ignore it, but I think we have seen many games he did really well,” Ten Hag said of De Gea, who is speaking to the club about extending his stay beyond the end of the season.

A strong performance in Europe