Rio Ferdinand poses David de Gea Manchester United question that only Erik ten Hag can answer

David De Gea's error in Manchester United's defeat to West Ham United on Sunday has raised fresh concerns over his future at the club.

The Spaniard allowed Said Benrahma's tame effort from distance to slip through his defences and into the net at the London Stadium for what proved to be the only goal of the game. It was the fourth error the 32-year-old has made this season which has directly led to a goal.

Yet De Gea has kept more clean sheets than any other keeper in the Premier League this term and is in conversations over a new contract with his current deal up in the summer. Erik ten Hag has kept faith in the former Atletico Madrid youngster this season but former Manchester United star Rio Ferdinand believes the manager must now make a call on whether De Gea is the man to help take the club forward.

ALSO READ: Manchester United signing who made Fergie call Neville an 'idiot' now poses Ten Hag a key transfer question

"The question mark about him I think is whether he's good enough with his feet to play the Erik ten Hag way. In terms of shot-stopping he's made a mistake today but that's not the area I question him. Is he a good enough footballer to play for Manchester United?" he said, speaking on BT Sport.

"The only person that can answer that is Erik ten Hag and we'll know at the end of this season. If he gets a new deal then Ten Hag thinks he is more than capable of being his number one goalkeeper."

On the Benrahma goal, Ferdinand added of De Gea: "He never takes a step to steady himself, every step is backwards. There is not one where he goes 'I am going to steady myself and plant my feet'. Everything is going backwards and he is at a loss. Then if you slip you can't make up for it."

Former England