Brentford star David Raya has acknowledged that everyone is surprised after Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea was omitted from the Spain squad recently.
De Gea has been in stunning form for the Red Devils between the sticks this campaign. The 31-year-old has single-handedly won many games for the club with stand-out saves.
Despite this, he was unable to find a place in Luis Enrique’s La Roja squad. Athletic Bilbao’s Unai Simon has been the regular for the national team since his breakthrough last year.
Meanwhile, Brighton & Hove Albion’s Robert Sanchez and Brentford’s Raya have got the nod for the deputy roles. The latter has earned his maiden call-up at the expense of De Gea.
Enrique’s decision has led to plenty of debate over the past few days, and Raya has now said that ‘everyone is surprised’ by his compatriot’s omission from the latest Spain squad.
In an exclusive interview with Onda Cero, he said: “It’s a surprise for everyone. De Gea is doing a stint at United and everyone is surprised that he is not in the national team.”
Raya, 26, has made good progress during the past few seasons at Brentford, and should be delighted that his performances are being rewarded by a debut Spain call-up.
However, we are still amazed about De Gea’s exclusion. Judging by Luis Enrique’s comments, he does not fit into the system which is true. De Gea is not a modern goalkeeper.
The Spaniard is gifted with tremendous reflexes, but barely comes off his line to make high claims. He is also not comfortable playing from the back in high pressure situations.
This could point towards the decision from Enrique. Meanwhile, there has been surprise talk that De Gea could be replaced. United are lining up a move for Sevilla’s Yassine Bounou.
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