In a latest interview with talkSPORT, former Manchester United right-back Gary Neville belives that David De Gea is a better goalkeeper than Thibaut Courtois.
Ever since Courtois has moved to Premier League there have been comparisons between the two young keepers. Comparisons are obvious as both have moved from La Liga to England and coincidently they both joined Premier League from Atletico Madrid.
In a talk show with talkSPORT, Gary Neville was asked as to who he would pick as the better goalkeeper at the moment. Neville’s reply was subtle and quick “De Gea now, at this moment.”
Amid his statement, we take a look at who has really been the outstanding keeper this season. De Gea has a distinct advantage over Courtois in a sense that De Gea has been playing in the league for last 4 seasons now while Courtious is in his debut season.
We took a look at the stats and tried to figure out, who has been the better man in goal this season. We have taken total saves, saves per goal, distribution accuracy, punches & catches as the basic criteria.
As per Squawka Stats, De Gea (60) has made more saves than Courtois (38) which is due to the Spaniard (26) playing more matches than the Belgian (22). De Gea and Courtois are tied at 7 clean sheets in the league.
When De Gea arrived in the league his lack of physical presence in the box was heavily criticised. We take a look at the number of punches and catches these two have had and Courtois has outscored De Gea in that regard. The Belgian is colossal figure in the box and likes to dominate the ball more often than De Gea.
Looking at the stats, we can clearly see that De Gea is having to do way more than Courtois and thus is the better performing goalkeeper at the moment. The fact that Courtois plays behind one of the most potent defences in Europe goes slightly against him as De Gea has to be on his guard all the time since Manchester United have the most unsure of defences in the league.
Our verdict it out and it concurs with Gary Neville’s opinion. I think David De Gea is a better goal keeper at the moment than Thibaut Courtois and if De Gea stays in the league next season, the battle would get even more fascinating as United are planning to re-shape their back four and then we will see an even battle between the two young keepers. Premier League is truly blessed to have these two outstanding young keepers playing in England at the moment.
Sportzwiki Verdict
David De Gea: 9/10, Thibaut Courois: 8/10
Stats Credits: squawaka