David de Gea insists he feels better than ever at the start of a crucial season in his Manchester United career.
The Spanish international was investigated last season after some high-profile mistakes and is now facing pressure for his place after Dean Henderson – who played on loan at Sheffield United – was kept at Old Trafford and signed a new long-term deal.
Henderson impressed with his United debut in their EFL Cup victory in Luton Town this week, but De Gea remains number one in Saturday’s Premier League match with Brighton and Hove Albion.
“Perhaps [people forget I’m still young] because I have played a lot since I was very young, but right now I probably feel the best I have felt in my career, ”the 29-year-old told MUTV.
“I feel very, very good and very confident and very positive, and that is very important to me.
“It’s great to train every day here with the coaches and goalkeepers. We always try to learn from each other and try to push completely. It’s great.
“If you see the training, it’s really good to see the goalkeepers together – very important to have good feelings with the other goalkeepers and also the goalkeeping coaches.
“We train very, very well – the whole department of goalkeepers. We have to be at this level every day and show the players that the goalkeepers feel 100 percent.”
A terrible start to United’s Premier League campaign caused them to suffer a 3-1 home defeat to Crystal Palace, a blow after they made such a strong finish to end up being third last season.
De Gea saved a penalty kick from the second half from Jordan Ayew, but it had to be taken again after it was determined that he faction had gone out of his line so Wilfried Zaha could net.
“It was a little crazy,” De Gea reflected. “It is already difficult to save a penalty kick.
“Even if you make a save and they repeat the penalty, they can change the taker so there’s no pressure on the player who missed the penalty – it’s a little weird.
“However, those are the rules and I’m trying to save the next penalty straight from the line, these are the football rules.”
He added: “It’s true that the first game was not the best game for us. It was a strange time after last season that did not have enough time to rest properly, but it is the same for all teams.
“It’s time to start winning games. Last season we finished really strong, so we have to try to play like we did in the last 10 games. That’s how we should be and play our best football.
“Now is the time to be back to winning ways and winning trophies, that’s the most important thing for us at the moment. We have to go for trophies.”
