Why Jan Oblak should be new Man United #1 when De Gea exits
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It seems we could be set to see a former Atletico Madrid keeper exit Old Trafford, and a current member of the Colcheneros squad replace him.
In fact, our odds-crunchers make it just Evens that David De Gea leaves Manchester United this summer, with current Atleti stopper Jan Oblak 6/5 to join the Premier League giants.
So, if De Gea leaves, there’s little doubt over who his replacement will be. And while fans of the 20-time title winners would hate to see the Spaniard go, there’s reason to believe that Oblak would be the ideal substitute for him.
The Slovenian has chalked up an incredible 15 clean sheets in 28 games this season, including shutouts against the likes of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
But while that record owes some credit to Atleti’s impressive defence, Oblak’s individual stats speak for themselves.
In Europe, he’s averaged eight saves per goal conceded. Just let that sink in.
As for the 24-year-old’s La Liga record, he’s averaged a still-excellent 2.12 stops per goal. That betters David De Gea’s ratio, with the current United keeper averaging 2.00 saves for every time he’s conceded in the Premier League.
Elsewhere, Oblak has been successful in over 95% of the balls he’s attempted to claim this term. And his distribution success comfortably tops 60%, with an average length of 46 yards. So there’s no doubt he can be a useful weapon in building attacks, as well as stopping them.
And while he’d be a newbie in Premier League terms, the Skofja Loka native has no shortage of big-game experience. He’s played in four major cup finals, keeping clean sheets in three of those. Not too shabby, eh?
Given his relatively young age, the best years of Oblak’s career are likely to still be ahead of him. That’s a worrying thought for opposing strikers, but one which cements him as the top name on Jose Mourinho’s summer shopping list.
De Gea’s are big gloves to fill, but United may well have found the man to fill them.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
