They may be rivals for 90 minutes later today, but Tottenham goalkeeper Brad Friedel has sprung to the defence of his Manchester United counterpart David De Gea.
Yesterday De Gea spoke of his admiration for the American praising his longevity and Friedel has returned the favour by suggesting that the young Spaniard deserves more credit than he has received following some ‘solid’ performances.
Speaking to the Sunday Mirror, Friedel said:
“People need to start giving him a little bit more credit. It’s not easy being 21 years old with an 18m pound price tag on your head, making a mistake or two and trying to replace Edwin van der Sar.
“The hardest thing for a young goalkeeper is that when you make a mistake you feel like the world is caving in on you. We know the outfield players are working so hard during the game and you feel terrible when you make a mistake.
“But the older you get, the easier it becomes to deal with. What I have liked in De Gea is that his performances recently have been very solid. He has made some big saves in some crucial games after getting a lot of stick when he first came.”
